Lamar's Lament. The #Tennessee Senator basically said #Trump did it but it's not worth impeaching him. @Mattizcoop and @TheHalliCJShow explain the end of a storied career #LamarAlexander http://bit.ly/2Ojdsz3

Can #LamarAlexander find his voice? The #Tennessee Senator is at the end of his career and there's some indications that he might call for witnesses. Will he? #impeachment @TheHalliCJShow http://bit.ly/2Rj5dVB

So glad to represent La Vergne this afternoon at a local luncheon. It was great seeing Mayor Mary Ester Reed & Britt Reed, Commissioner Turner, Lisa Duke Crowell, Heather Dawbarn for Register of Deeds of Rutherford County, Commissioner Gourley, and both candidates for United States Senator Bill Hagerty & Dr Manny Sethi. #uscongress #lamaralexander #billhagerty #mannysethi #rutherfordcountytn #electedofficialslife #luncheon https://www.instagram.com/p/B34MPXyhS33/?igshid=1ha04wwcr8u5j

SK: When I talk to HHS about this issue, they essentially point the finger back at  Congress, saying they’re stuck in an impossible situation of having to implement a law without Congressional appropriations. That they’ve essentially been forced to turn to private fundraising because Congress has denied their requests. LA: That sounds like a guilty plea. If that’s what they’re saying is that Congress has refused to appropriate the money, then you can’t do it [implement Obamacare]. That’s a curb on the executive. Let me give you an example. President Bush and I had asked Congress to appropriate a half-billion dollars to school vouchers. We didn’t get it, and we were disappointed. But we did not go out and form a corporation to pay for it. That would have been a problem. SK: That seems a bit different to me. Here they’re trying to carry out a law that Congress passed. What you’re talking about is creating a brand-new program. LA: There is a law against what they’re doing and the GAO has also said an agency may not augment appropriations from outside sources. This isn’t a complicated thing. If the administration asks for $5 and Congress appropriates $4, that’s what they get. If the government creates a subterfuge by going outside the government, to raise money through a private entity, that’s a violation of the law.