State Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville) is sharply rebuking Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam for mischaracterizing the Tennessee General Assembly’s Tenth Amendment lawsuit against the federal government for its operation of the refugee resettlement program to the state’s Attorney General, Herbert Slatery.
In a letter sent on Monday, Norris, the co-sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 467, which passed both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly by wide margins, took the gloves off against the state’s Republican governor.
“I am troubled by the statement you released on Friday concerning SJR467,and I am uncomfortable with your mischaracterization of this important Resolution,” Norris wrote.
“The federal government must not do indirectly what it cannot lawfully do directly, and the Tennessee General Assembly must have the opportunity to approve, or disapprove, specific expenditures through the appropriation process,” (emphasis added) Norris continued, adding:
Even though Gov. Bredesen withdrew Tennessee from the Refugee Resettlement Program almost a decade ago, the costs continue to mount. We appropriated an additional $33 million for English Language Learning in this year’s budget. TennCare costs also continue to grow. We must know the extent to which these and other costs are attributable to federal cost shifting to cover resettlement.
As Breitbart News reported on Friday: (continue reading)