Known as a dynamic and visionary leader in East Tennessee for many years, Zach Wamp is now offering his energy, tenacity and executive leadership to all Tennesseans. From education, economic development and preventive healthcare to commanding the Tennessee National Guard, Zach is ready to lead Tennessee to an even brighter future. Zach serves our nation’s veterans and active military as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, which funds our military installations at home and abroad and resources the important benefits for our nation’s 23 million veterans.
For 10 years, Zach has served on the Energy and Water subcommittee, which oversees and funds our national missions at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex and the replacement of the Chickamauga Lock on the Tennessee River. Over his 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Zach Wamp has set the highest of standards for effective representation and strong leadership.
Sometimes called the “Region’s Mayor,” Zach established the Tennessee Valley Technology Corridor in 1995. Over the last 14 years, nearly 20 regional technology “summits” have been held advancing a manufacturing and technology based economic development agenda. This award winning regional economic development effort won the National Department of Commerce Award for regional economic development along with the renowned Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.
Zach is proposing this same aggressive approach in promoting regional cooperation across Tennessee by creating a new “Defense Corridor” running along I-24 and I-65 from the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal in North Alabama to the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Center near Tullahoma to Fort Campbell on the Kentucky line.
Zach envisions an opportunity to connect and leverage Tennessee’s regional assets to help create a powerful new economic engine – a Defense Corridor – that will help make our economy even more resilient and create thousands of new jobs in Tennessee during tough economic times.
A Chattanooga native, Zach spent twelve years as a small businessman and commercial real estate broker before being elected to Congress. He and his wife, Kim, have a son, Weston, and a daughter, Coty, in college at the University of Tennessee. Zach’s family actively attends Red Bank Baptist Church, where he has helped lead an adult Sunday school class for nearly two decades.
