WASHINGTON — Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL3), a member of the House Committee on Armed Services and Chairman of the Strategic Forces subcommittee, blasted the proposed House GOP budget Tuesday for not appropriating enough for defense spending. “While folks across East Alabama are tightening their belts to live within their means, the Federal government should be […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdQCdxcHwLQ (Video above: Senator Jeff Sessions addresses the Senate Judiciary Committee) WASHINGTON — Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) made a statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Tuesday saying individuals and companies engaged in the immigration policy debate should stop treating humans like commodities. “People aren’t commodities. We compare labor to commodities, but they’re not commodities. […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley told the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday that same-sex marriage is an assault on the “rights of children to be connected to their biological parents.” According to the Associated Press, the governor made his case by filing a “friend of the court brief Tuesday.” U.S. District Judge […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has signed a letter with 22 other state attorneys general imploring the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to permanently discard the proposed ban on the popular M855 5.56 x 45mm ammunition, often used in AR-15 rifles. The attorneys general called the proposed ban “arbitrary” […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — During an interview on Yellowhammer Radio with Cliff Sims on Tuesday, Sen. Richard Shelby expressed concerns that Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley’s $541 million tax hike proposal could negatively impact that state’s economic development efforts. “Well, I don’t think it’s going to help,” Shelby said. Sen. Shelby, who served in the Alabama State […]

WASHINGTON — Representative Martha Roby (R-AL2), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said Monday that any budget the House presents must meet the needs of the military. “To earn my support, a budget plan must sufficiently address sequestration and restore critical funding for national defense,” Rep. Roby said in a release. “One of […]

Right now, Alabama is on track to solve one of the biggest threats to its budget and autonomy: our state criminal justice system. You may not know its full significance. We have spent the last decade unable to deal with increasing burdens on our state prisons. Our facilities hold almost twice the number of inmates […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Since Prohibition was lifted in the 1930s, the State of Alabama has been a “Control State”, meaning the state directly controls the sale and regulation of alcohol. Currently liquor is still sold by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) in 176 state-operated locations, though private retailers are allowed to sell, as […]

WASHINGTON — The Washington Examiner, a D.C.-based political journalism weekly newspaper and website has laid out a timeline of State Department obstructionism of the Congressional investigation into the Benghazi terror attacks. Representative Martha Roby (R-AL2), a member of the select committee to investigate the the attacks, said last week that she believes Hillary Clinton, who […]

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley “boldly” (his words) went back on his campaign promise not to raise taxes and proposed a $541 million tax hike last month. Bentley said in his State of the State address that he believes most Alabama families would not feel the impact of his tax increases. For that to be true, […]

(Video above: answering questions about Alabama’s charter schools proposal) A charter schools bill is making its way through the Alabama Legislature right now, and will likely be passed into law in the very near future. The legislation has received the support of education policy scholars at the Heritage Foundation — long considered the benchmark for […]

Enhancing Career and Technical Education (CTE) has been a primary focus of mine during my service in Congress. Why? Because it empowers young workers to find good-paying jobs, helps prepare youth for a smooth transition from school to career, and lifts up communities throughout Alabama – all at the same time. Alabama is blessed with […]

WASHINGTON — Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) penned a letter to Social Security Administration Commissioner Carolyn Colvin requesting details on exactly how many illegal immigrants have received Social Security numbers (SSNs) resulting from the President’s executive actions on immigration over the last three years. “It is our understanding that through January 8, […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Yellowhammer Multimedia announced Friday that the company is launching a syndicated talk radio program in the Birmingham and Huntsville media markets, with other Alabama markets to be announced soon. The show will be hosted by Yellowhammer News founder Cliff Sims and will officially launch on Monday, March 16, 2015. “Yellowhammer News has […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Just in the nick of time, the Alabama Senate passed, and Governor Bentley signed, two laws that will allow the dozens of the state’s small cities that voted to go “wet” in the last 6 years to continue selling alcohol. A State Supreme Court ruling last month said small cities with populations […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill after four hours of debate Thursday that would protect judges and ministers from being forced to perform any marriage ceremony that violates their religious beliefs. “With the recent federal court ruling related to the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment and the confusion that resulted, the […]

Did you know it is illegal to run a marathon in the state of Alabama? To purchase a domesticated animal or bird after the sun goes down? To attend a bear wrestling match? A bill passed the Alabama House Wednesday with near-unanimity might just take Alabama off those “Dumbest State Laws” lists that float around […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama State Legislature is discussing and debating a law that would allow charter schools to be established in the state for the first time, but some interesting infighting among various conservative groups has brought up the question: what is the conservative position on school choice? School choice is one of those […]

The University of Alabama elected its first black Student Government Association president in nearly four decades on Tuesday and some of his campaigning was done by the Alabama football team. Elliot Spillers defeated his challenger, Stephen Keller, receiving 8,602 votes of the 14,931 votes cast. The turnout was the most since 2009, and Spillers is […]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama on Tuesday elected its first black student government association president in almost forty years, and in the process toppled the fabled “Machine,” a coalition of sororities and fraternities that has controlled campus politics for much of the past century. The student body elected Elliot Spiller, a junior from […]

WASHINGTON — Senator Richard Shelby took to Facebook Tuesday to express his approval of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) decision to withdraw its proposed ban of the .223-caliber M855 “green tip” ammunition, used in the immensely popular AR-15 rifle. Post by Richard Shelby. In its initial proposal, the ATF sought to […]

WASHINGTON — Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has come under fire in recent days for admitting he’s never sent an email, which got us wondering, how does Alabama’s longest-serving member of Congress utilize email? While it is unimaginable for those of us whose work and personal lives revolve around Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail that someone could […]

WASHINGTON — A recent survey by The Polling Company, a Washington, D.C.-based public opinion research firm, found that only 11% of the United States’ booming hispanic population believe more immigrants should be allowed in the country if U.S. companies have trouble finding workers. The poll of 1,008 U.S. adults lends support to Sen. Jeff Sessions’ […]

Fiscally conservative political action group Club for Growth has released its Congressional Scorecard for the 2014 session, and Alabama’s delegation ended up with an average score of 59 percent (out of 100). Club for Growth bases its Scorecard on a series of “Key Votes” it broadcasts to legislators and its national network whenever “it is […]