NASHVILLE – Ahead of Gov. Bill Lee’s annual State of the State address on Monday, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. John Ray Clemmons is releasing the Democratic Prebuttal, outlining the real challenges facing working families and exposing the governor’s failed leadership.
Full remarks as prepared:
Hello, Tennessee. I’m state representative John Ray Clemmons, a husband and father, a proud public school parent, a little league baseball coach — and the chairman of your House Democratic Caucus.
I grew up on a farm in Wilson County, where I learned the value of hard work, personal responsibility, and the importance of a government that works for all of us — not just the wealthy and well-connected.
Next Monday, our governor will tell you that Tennessee is leading the nation. He’ll tell you our state, cities and local economies are thriving. But let’s be honest: that’s not the reality for most working families across this state. Tennesseans are working harder than ever, yet struggling to afford housing, quality healthcare, and groceries for our families. Our children are learning in under-funded schools, our roads and bridges are crumbling, and hospitals and medical clinics are closing in rural communities.
So when you hear from the governor on Monday, ask yourself some simple questions:
Are my taxes lower? Are my roads better? Is my neighborhood safer? Are my healthcare costs going down? Does my child’s teachers have all the resources they need?
For most people who work for a living in our great state, the answers are a resounding “no.”
After 14 years of total Republican control of our state government, Tennessee families are less safe and less secure. So let’s talk about what safe and secure really means.
It means an economy that works for all Tennesseans, not just billionaires and special interests. It means having a good job with a living wage and retirement benefits, affordable housing, and healthcare that won’t bankrupt you. It means strong public schools that fulfill the promise of opportunity for every child, safe communities free from gun violence, and infrastructure that keeps our state moving forward — not stuck in gridlock or under water.
But instead of focusing on the basics and governing responsibly, Tennessee’s governor and Republican legislators have chosen a different path for our state. They have abandoned true fiscal conservatism in favor of handouts to the wealthy and payouts for special interests. They’ve doubled our state budget, grown our state government bureaucracy, increased our reliance on federal funding, and shifted an unprecedented financial burden to local governments.
Meanwhile, they’ve spent significant sums, drained our state treasury to enrich billionaires, gave a $1.6 billion handout to property-rich corporations, most of which were located out of state, and just recently, Republicans passed a voucher scheme that will defund our public schools and rob college scholarship funds to subsidize private school tuition for wealthy families whose kids are already in private school.
Let’s talk about what they are not funding. Today, Tennessee has a $78 billion dollar backlog of infrastructure projects—roads, bridges, schools, water systems—critical investments that we cannot afford. Republican fiscal mismanagement is so bad that they argued the necessity of toll lanes on state roadways just to pay for road projects. This is a reality we are facing even though they doubled our state budget in 14 years and increased our gas taxes.
Why? Because billion dollar handouts to folks with private planes is their priority — not you. Not middle class families. And despite their claims, Tennessee’s public schools are still underfunded — ranking 45th in the nation in per-pupil spending.
Let’s be clear: Republican policies and fiscal recklessness don’t serve working and middle-class families or small business owners. They serve a select, wealthy few.
Getting back to basics means funding our public schools and investing in educators. It means ensuring every child has access to pre-school and free school meals, because a child can’t learn if they’re hungry. It means investing in roads and passenger rail to ease congestion so that working Tennesseans can spend less time stuck in traffic and more time at home with their families. It means making sure that hospitals and quality healthcare options are available in every community across this state.
And while the governor and Republican legislators claim they’ve cut taxes, let’s talk facts. This governor’s tax cuts mostly benefit out-of-state CEOs and shareholders who don’t live here. And while billionaires in boardrooms in other parts of the world love these corporate handouts, working families in living rooms across Tennessee are paying over $1 billion more in fees since the governor took office.
What’s worse is Tennessee remains one of the few states that still taxes groceries — something we Democrats have fought to repeal for years to lower costs so that every family can afford to put food on the table.
No matter your politics — Republican, Independent, or Democrat — you can feel it: things aren’t working the way they should. Families are stretched thin, costs keep rising, and the people in charge are more focused on accumulating power for themselves than fixing real problems for others.
We cannot ignore the reality of this moment. Across this country, powerful billionaires and extremists are dismantling our government, rigging the system for themselves, and sowing division and fear. In Tennessee, we’ve seen this firsthand: culture war distractions, book bans, attacks on educators, librarians and doctors and policies that restrict healthcare options for women and families.
None of this makes life better for your family, working Tennesseans or small business owners. None of it helps you pay your bills, put food on your table, reduce traffic congestion, or send your kids to a great public school.
So here’s the choice before us: we can continue down this path of failed leadership and fiscal recklessness, or we can demand a government that works for all Tennesseans.
Democrats believe in a safe and secure future where every working family, small business owner and family farm has the opportunity to thrive. That’s why we’re fighting to:
* Cut costs for working families by eliminating the grocery tax and lowering the cost of healthcare and childcare.
* Invest in our public schools and make Tennessee a safe place to learn and an inspiring place to work as an educator.
* Strengthen public safety by addressing the root causes of crime—poverty, lack of health services, unsafe housing, and easy access to illegal guns.
* Make health coverage affordable for every working family so that no one goes bankrupt over a medical bill.
* Raise incomes by finally increasing Tennessee’s minimum wage and ensuring workers have the rights and protections they deserve.
* Modernize our infrastructure so that roads, bridges, and public transit systems actually serve the people who rely on them most. We can and should return interstate passenger rail to Tennessee.
This is what real leadership looks like. It’s time to get back to basics and rebuild Tennessee’s middle class.
Working on my family farm as a kid, we couldn’t afford to waste time on nonsense. It wasn’t tolerated. There was too much work to be done, so we all did our part and focused only on what would put food on our table. You should expect the same of your elected leaders.
We can get our state back on track. We can build a better future for our children. But we need your voice. Demand better.
Let’s get back to the basics and work together to keep Tennessee families safe and secure.
Thank you, and may God bless the great state of Tennessee.
