WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said he is searching the Nashville area for a second home “as a matter of convenience” because of the large amount of time he spends in the state’s capital.

The Nashville City Paper last week reported that Sen. Corker was spotted in the Belle Meade neighborhood with a real estate agent, and the Chattanooga native confirmed to the Chattanooga Times Free Press that he is indeed househunting there.

“My primary residence is in Chattanooga and will be in Chattanooga,” Sen. Corker. “But we spend a lot of time traveling the state. I end up catching a lot of flights back to or leaving from Middle Tennessee because of scheduling, and it’ll be nice to have a place where I can keep some clothes.”

He denied suggestions that his real estate search is a precursor to a gubernatorial run, in which he once was rumored to be interested.

“I absolutely love what I’m doing in the Senate, and no, this is absolutely having nothing to do with a run for governor in 2010 or any other year,” Sen. Corker said.

“MANHATTAN” VS. “APOLLO”

In April U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., came to Oak Ridge to urge the United States to adopt another “Manhattan Project” focused on new sources of energy.

Not to be outdone last week, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., came to Huntsville, Ala., for the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit and suggested the country should embark upon an “Apollo mission” for new energy sources. Huntsville has been Alabama’s fastest growing metro city since it began building rocket engines for NASA and at the Redstone military base after World War II.

Huntsville and Oak Ridge are among the biggest recipients of federal research and defense spending in the region.

GREENSPAN SPEAKS; WORLD LISTENS

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, RTenn., was leaving a news conference last week at the National Press Building in Washington, when former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan stepped onto his elevator a few floors down.

“How are you doing, Mr. Greenspan?” Rep. Wamp asked.

“Not bad, but the day is young,” Mr. Greenspan quipped. “A lot of terrible things can still happen.”

“Be careful what you say, now,” Rep. Wamp replied. “You might cause a ripple in the world economy. The whole world leans on what you say.”

“OK, I’ll keep my mouth shut, then,” Mr. Greenspan deadpanned.

CRAMER TEASES WAMP ON VW

Rep. Wamp, who helped create the Tennessee Valley Technology Corridor shortly after he was elected to the Congress in 1994, made sure that this year’s Corridor meeting honored retiring U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Ala., who is giving up a congressional seat he has held since 1991.

The two congressman jointly have hosted several of the 19 corridor summits since 1995. Despite their joint economic development efforts in the past, however, the two congressman represent competing sites for a factory proposed by Volkswagen.

Rep. Cramer joked last week that he thought he had fooled Rep. Wamp when another colleague told Rep. Wamp that Rep Cramer “had just got an important call about that big project.” Rep. Cramer said his Tennessee colleague looked pale and distressed for a few moments until he realized the supposed call was just a joke.

“We had a good laugh and congratulated each other on getting this far” as reported finalists in VW’s selection process, Rep. Cramer said. Volkswagen reportedly is considering TVAcertified megasites in Chattanooga and near Athens, Ala., in addition to sites in Michigan.

DAVIS STARTS KURDISHAMERICAN CAUCUS

Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., last week co-founded the Congressional Kurdish-American Caucus with Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq.

“I was honored that Prime Minister Barzani visited the Capitol,” Rep. Davis said. “I hope that this will stand as a symbol of continued friendship and cooperation between the United States and Iraq’s Kurdish people in our effort to bring peace and stability to a federated Iraq.”

Rep. Davis led a congressional delegation to the Middle East earlier this year that included a tour of the Kurdish-controlled region in northern Iraq.

More than 9,000 Kurds live in Tennessee, his office said.