Chairman's Press
Alexander: FDA Approval of Reliable, Low-Cost, At Home Diagnostic Test is “A Genuine Breakthrough” in COVID-19 Testing
WASHINGTON, December 15, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Ellume's new over-the-counter, at-home diagnostic COVID-19 test: "This is a genuine breakthrough in COVID-19 testing. A low-cost, reliable test that can be bought over-the-counter without a prescription and taken at home in 15 minutes. This is the result of the extraordinary efforts of the National Institutes of He… Continue Reading
12.12.20
Alexander Statement on FDA Authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
WASHINGTON, December 11, 2020 - U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the Food and Drug Administration's authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech: "Producing a 95 percent effective vaccine in 8 months instead of the 8 years it often takes is truly a medical miracle. Each of us should be grateful to the scientists in pharmaceutical companies and the federal government who produced this result, b… Continue Reading
12.11.20
Congressional Committee Leaders Announce Surprise Billing Agreement
Washington, D.C. - Today, key House and Senate Committee leaders announced a bipartisan agreement on legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills and establish a fair framework to resolve payment disputes between health care providers and health insurance companies. The deal was agreed to by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Ranking M… Continue Reading
12.02.20
Alexander Farewell Address: More Than Ever, Our Country Needs the United States Senate to Turn Pluribus Into Unum
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out how to gum up the works of a body of one hundred that operates mainly by unanimous consent. Here's my view: it's hard to get here, hard to stay here, and while you're here, you might as well try to accomplish something good for the country. But it's hard to accomplish something if you don't vote on amendments. Lately, the Senate has become like joining the Grand Ole Opry and not being allowed to sing." - Sen. Lamar Alexander Click here for the vid… Continue Reading
11.09.20
Alexander: Governor Cuomo Should Focus His Time and Resources on Planning to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines in New York
MARYVILLE, Tennessee, November 9, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) "should focus his time and resources on planning to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in New York once they are approved by the career scientists at the Food and Drug Administration, regardless of who is president." Alexander's statement came after Gov. Cuomo said today that it is "bad news" that Pfizer announced preliminary 90% efficacy results i… Continue Reading
10.29.20
Alexander: Trump Administration Doing the Right Thing By Providing Free COVID-19 Vaccines for Tens of Millions of Americans Including Seniors and Low-Income Families
MARYVILLE, Tennessee, October 29, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the Trump Administration is "doing the right thing by providing free COVID-19 vaccines for tens of millions of Americans including seniors and low-income families," after the Trump Administration released a plan that makes COVID-19 vaccines free for seniors through Medicare, low-income populations through Medicaid, and those with private insurance. The plan also bans providers from … Continue Reading
10.29.20
Chairman Alexander: Trump Administration Price Transparency Rule Will Protect Patients and Contain Costs
MARYVILLE, Tennessee, October 29, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the Trump Administration's final rule requiring health insurers to disclose price and out-of-pocket costs information will protect patients and contain costs, adding that Congress should do its part by passing the bipartisan, bicameral Lower Health Care Costs Act. "You can't lower your health care costs until you know what your health care costs," Alexander said. "The Senate health … Continue Reading
10.29.20
Chairman Alexander: Trump Administration Price Transparency Rule Will Protect Patients and Contain Costs
MARYVILLE, Tennessee, October 29, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the Trump Administration's final rule requiring health insurers to disclose price and out-of-pocket costs information will protect patients and contain costs, adding that Congress should do its part by passing the bipartisan, bicameral Lower Health Care Costs Act. "You can't lower your health care costs until you know what your health care costs," Alexander said. "The Senate health … Continue Reading
10.24.20
Alexander: New York and California Governors Should Stop Second Guessing FDA on Safety and Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccines
WASHINGTON, October 24, 2020 - The Chairman of the U.S. Senate health committee said today that the governors of New York and California should respect career scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and stop second guessing the scientists' decisions on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. The governors have announced they are setting up their own state COVID-19 vaccine review panels. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) said, "Frankly, I'm not going to trust the federal go… Continue Reading
10.21.20
Alexander Votes for COVID-19 Legislation to Help Businesses and Schools, Fund Testing and Vaccines, and Prepare for Future Pandemics
WASHINGTON, October 21, 2020 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today voted for COVID-19 relief legislation that was blocked by Senate Democrats. "For the second time in two months, Senate Democrats have blocked legislation that would provide an additional $500 billion in COVID-19 relief for many things that have bipartisan support-additional unemployment benefits, more Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses, more federal funding to help schools and child care reo… Continue Reading
10.19.20
Alexander Statement on Dr. Fauci
MARYVILLE, Tenn., October 19, 2020 - U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement: "Dr. Fauci is one of our country's most distinguished public servants. He has served six presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan. If more Americans paid attention to his advice, we'd have fewer cases of COVID-19, and it would be safer to go back to school and back to work and out to eat." ###… Continue Reading
10.06.20
NIH Makes Additional Investment in Blunt & Alexander’s Shark-Tank Style Initiative to Expand COVID-19 Testing Capacity
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, today welcomed the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) announcement that it has awarded a third round of contracts to six additional companies developing coronavirus diagnostic tests through the Rapid Acceleratio… Continue Reading
10.06.20
Chairman Alexander Statement on Federal Guidance for COVID-19 Vaccines
NASHVILLE, Tenn., October 6, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement regarding federal guidance for COVID-19 vaccines: "The White House is correct to endorse and not change the standards established by career scientists at the Food and Drug Administration concerning the safety of vaccines. This should reassure the American people that while the vaccines are being manufactured more rapidly than ever before, the Administration is le… Continue Reading
09.29.20
Alexander: 130,000 New, Rapid COVID-19 Tests Headed to Tennessee Will Build Confidence About Going Back to School and Work
MARYVILLE, Tenn., September 29, 2020 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced distribution of the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 tests: "The Trump Administration announcement that it will send 130,000 new rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tests to Tennessee will build confidence about going back to school, back to work, and out to eat. That number should quickly increase during October and November because the Admi… Continue Reading
09.24.20
Chairman Alexander Statement on Surprise Medical Billing Executive Order
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after President Trump called on Congress to end surprise medical billing by January 1, 2021: "The President is right to call on Congress to pass legislation this year to end surprise medical billing. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation that is supported by three committees and more than two dozen senators led by Sens. Cassidy and Hassan answers the President's … Continue Reading
09.23.20
Alexander: Vaccine Program on Track to be an Unprecedented Sprint to Success
"The secret to this success is that the government - in partnership with private industry - is for the first time developing and manufacturing a vaccine in parallel. In other words, the Operation Warp Speed plan is to manufacture tens of millions of doses of the six vaccine candidates at the same time the clinical trials are ongoing and the Food and Drug Administration works to determine whether they are safe and effective. If the FDA does not approve the vaccine, it will not be distributed. So … Continue Reading
09.17.20
Alexander: Finish Fixing the FAFSA — This Year
"After nearly seven years of work on these issues, it boils down to this: It makes no sense to make it this complicated to apply for federal aid for college. It makes no sense to discourage the very students Congress wants to encourage to attend college and benefit from federal financial aid…The right time to finish this job is now - a time when college students and their families are under so much pressure and facing so much uncertainty, especially homeless students, students in foster c… Continue Reading
09.16.20
Alexander Urges Congress to Act Now On Preparing for Inevitable Next Pandemic
** Click here for video ** WASHINGTON, September 16, 2020 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said Congress needs to break the cycle of "panic, neglect, panic" in response to public health threats. Alexander made his remarks at today's Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' COVID-19 response efforts so far, as well as what steps Congress can take now to prepare for the next pandemic. "Jared Diamond, the author of 'Guns… Continue Reading
09.15.20
Alexander: Money Paid to Student Athletes for Their Name, Image, and Likeness Should Benefit All Student Athletes at that Institution
"I do not see a good ending to allowing a few student athletes to be paid by commercial interests while most of their teammates are not. If young athletes want to be a part of a team, enjoy the undergraduate experience, learn from coaches who are among the best teachers, and be paid a full scholarship that helps them earn a degree worth $1 million during their lifetime, their earnings should benefit all student athletes at that institution. If they prefer to keep the money for themselves, let th… Continue Reading
09.10.20
Alexander: Democrats Block Bill to Help Americans Go Safely Back to School, College and Child Care and Prepare for Future Pandemics
WASHINGTON, September 10, 2020 - Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said "the only way for Congress to help the American people get through the COVID-19 pandemic is for Democrats and Republicans to work together" after Democrats blocked a proposal to help Americans go safely back to school, college and child care and prepare for future pandemics from being debated on the Senate floor. The proposal-Delivering Immediate Relief to Ameri… Continue Reading
