As you may have seen in the news, the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 1735 – National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016 passed the House of Representatives. We can all agree that providing for the common defense is our government’s most important duty. Each year Congress passes the defense bill to make […]

WASHINGTON — Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions revealed Tuesday he believes the conglomerate of trade deals dubbed “ObamaTrade” can still be killed in Congress, but it won’t be easy. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) and Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), which Sessions points out would cover approximately 90 percent of the […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Tea Party and Conservative Coalition (ATPCC) banded together to endorse Wetumpka Tea Party president and nationally-known conservative activist Becky Gerritson in the Second District congressional race, simultaneously disavowing another Tea Party group which endorsed Republican incumbent Martha Roby. “Becky has been a Tea Party conservative since the movement began in […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Jesse Jackson will be traveling through Alabama Wednesday, condemning the state’s closure of 31 part-time satellite Drivers License offices, many of which are in counties with majority-minority populations. “It puts Alabama in a disgraceful posture again,” Jackson told WBRC. The Alabama Black Caucus announced that Jackson will appear at Bethel Baptist Missionary […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Congresswoman Martha Roby (R-AL2) is facing Becky Gerritson, the leader of one of Alabama’s most active and effective conservative political advocacy groups in the GOP primary next Spring, but that doesn’t mean every Tea Party in the state will support the challenger. The Alabama Patriots Tea Party, one of the oldest Tea […]

WASHINGTON — Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL1) announced his support for legislation Tuesday that would give Congress significant input before refugees can enter the United States. The Refugee Resettlement Oversight and Security Act, which Byrne is co-sponsoring, aims to include Congress in refugee resettlement plans through requiring approval from both the House and the Senate before refugees are admitted to the U.S., […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After a months-long battle over tax increases, Governor Robert Bentley revealed last week he will push once again for revenue increases in the 2016 legislative session. Between November 2014 and September 2015 the amount of revenue from new taxes and budget reforms the governor pushed for dropped from $541 million to $250 million, […]

It is shaping up to be a relatively calm election year in Alabama. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is on track to easily win re-election, none of Alabama’s state-level office-holders are on the ballot, and six of the state’s seven U.S. House members have drawn little or no opposition. If it wasn’t for the SEC Primary […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced Monday the state’s final settlement with BP concerning the damages caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also referred to as the BP oil spill. The agreement is set to bring approximately $2 billion dollars to Alabama in reparation for the economic and environmental damages resulting from […]

WASHINGTON — According to new information produced by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest, chaired by U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), for every 1 new American added to the population over the next 50 years, immigration will add 7 more. The report, which was conducted by Pew Research Center, projects that […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) decision to handle budget cuts by closing 31 part-time satellite Driver License offices as “a blast from the Jim Crow past.” The move by ALEA has invited national criticism, with Democrats and the media, in […]

As I was touring the manufacturing operation at Quality Filters in Robertsdale, I was struck by just how much manufacturing has grown in Southwest Alabama over the last decade. I paid a visit to Quality Filters to help celebrate National Manufacturing Day, which took place on October 2nd. We have seen a large increase in […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Lt. Governor Kay Ivey on Monday announced her endorsement of former Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush. Ivey also filed papers with the state Republican Party to qualify Gov. Bush to run in Alabama’s presidential primary. “Jeb Bush was a strong governor who provided conservative leadership in Florida,” said […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — When the announcement was made Wednesday that satellite drivers license office across the state would be closed, there was immediate speculation that it would cause disenfranchisement of voters in some of Alabama’s poorest counties, and particularly in those where minorities make up a large proportion of the population. Even Hillary Clinton, who […]

Former Vice President and climate change activist Al Gore has teamed up with a Tea Party leader in a move that could signal a change in tactics for the southeast’s burgeoning environmentalist movement. According to Politico, Gore has enlisted the help of “Green Tea Coalition” founder Debbie Dooley for a solar ballot initiative in Florida, […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Wetumpka Tea Party founder Becky Gerritson came out swinging on the first day of her quest to unseat Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL02), calling the three-term incumbent “one of the nation’s most liberal Republicans.” “Since day one, Martha Roby has aligned herself with establishment insiders and failed politicians,” Gerritson said in a press […]

(Video Above: Congressman Bradley Byrne urges his colleagues to focus more on national security over party politics) Washington – Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) delivered a speech from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday in support of two national security bills, and had some strong words for his colleagues. Congressman Byrne spoke first in support […]

WASHINGTON — Though Congress ultimately passed a “continuing resolution” (CR) Wednesday funding the federal government, including abortion provider Planned Parenthood, for the next two months, it wasn’t without significant pushback from Alabama’s  congressional Republicans, who all voted against the bill. The CR has become an oft-used short-term funding mechanism that essentially circumvents the normal budgeting […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Washington, D.C-based finance and business magazine Kiplinger recently named Alabama among the most tax friendly states in the nation. Though the state has been embroiled in its own battle over whether or not to raise taxes to increase revenue, it still remains one of the lowest-tax states on net. Coming in at […]

WASHINGTON–  Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, leading a bipartisan group of his colleagues, sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker Wednesday asking for stronger assistance from the Obama administration in combatting illegal trade practices by foreign competitors who are providing foreign subsidies to undercut the jobs and wages of American workers. Senator Sessions and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), members […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Representative Phil Williams (R-Huntsville) will challenge Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R-Auburn) for the legislature’s top post, according to a letter Williams sent to his colleagues Wednesday evening. “After taking several days to reflect on our most recent Special Session and the process through which we produced a budget for our State,” […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Wednesday the closure of 5 of Alabama’s 22 state parks. Other parks will see reductions in staff and hours, as well as increases in some entrance fees. The announcement followed shortly after a similar set of closures was announced by the Alabama Law […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Bentley administration began releasing Wednesday lists of services and locations executive agencies say will be closed because of budget cuts. The first wave of announcements came during the lunch hour Wednesday, with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) announcement that it will close 31 satellite Drivers’ License offices across the state. […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Hillary Clinton’s campaign has reportedly confirmed her first campaign stop in Alabama, accepting an invitation to speak at the Alabama Democratic Conference convention in Hoover on Oct. 17. She is currently the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president and will be visiting just four days after the CNN Democratic Primary Debate on Oct. 13. […]