TN ELECTIONS

While campaigning on tax cuts, opioids, Blackburn misses key votes

Joel Ebert
The Tennessean
Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn speaks at the 2018 Tennessee U.S. Senate Debate at Cumberland University on Sept. 25 in Lebanon, Tenn.

As U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn continues to campaign for the U.S. Senate against former Gov. Phil Bredesen, taxes and the opioid crisis are among the plethora of issues she says are important to address.

While campaigning, Blackburn has frequently praised last year's passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. At the same time, she's also called for what has been dubbed "Tax Cuts 2.0"

Blackburn said the second round of tax cuts would ensure President Donald Trump's initial legislation remained permanently. 

"People want to keep those Trump tax cuts," Blackburn said at an event in Adams, Tennessee in August. "We are working. We’ve got businesses that are growing and that are hiring people that really want to keep those tax cuts in place and they’re looking forward to those being made permanent. That’s all in the tax cuts 2.0."

But last week, when the House approved the Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2018, Blackburn did not cast a vote. The legislation was approved with a 220 to 191 vote.

Just days after she skipped the House vote on the "Tax Cuts 2.0" measure, Blackburn said on Twitter she was working on the issue while criticizing Bredesen.

The same day of the tax cuts legislation, Blackburn did not vote on a compromise bill between the House and Senate related to opioids.

Although Blackburn originally voted for the measure in June, the Senate later advanced a different version, sending the legislation to a conference committee. 

When a compromise was reached, Blackburn was one of 27 lawmakers to not vote on the legislation, which passed with a 393 to 8 vote.  

To tout her work regarding opioids, Blackburn recently launched a new ad. She highlights how the legislation had new funding, treatment options for veterans and enhanced criminal penalties on drugmakers.

"I approve this message because the opioid crisis affects all of us, but working together we can do something about it," she says in the ad.

Blackburn's absence in Congress has become a recurring issue as she continues to run for the Senate, with Democrats seizing on the issue. 

Mark Brown, a political operative with the Tennessee Democratic Party, has criticized Blackburn on Twitter for missing votes in Congress. 

As of mid-September, Blackburn had missed 57 of 80 House votes since the beginning of July. 

But after additional absences in recent weeks, she has now missed 78 of 102 House votes since July, according to GovTrack, a nonpartisan congressional tracking website. Many of her missed votes include perfunctory motions and measures that passed overwhelmingly.

When the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee asked Blackburn on Tuesday why she did not vote on the recent tax cuts and opioids measure, she declined directly respond.  

"I have been instrumental in crafting the opioids legislation that has moved through the House and we look forward to the president signing it into law," she said. 

When pressed further on the tax cuts legislation, Blackburn said she was similarly instrumental in working on the measure and was looking forward to the Senate taking up the legislation. 

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.