Chairman's Press
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
09.09.20
Alexander: FDA-Approved COVID-19 Vaccine is the Way to Stop More Deaths
"The true miracle of modern medicine is vaccines, which can prevent humans from acquiring the disease at all. That is why today in all 50 states and the District of Columbia schoolchildren are required to take vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, rubella, and chicken pox before entering school. The vaccination will protect the child from getting the disease, which in turn prevents the child from infecting someone else - a pattern that has caused these diseases eventua… Continue Reading
09.09.20
Alexander: Senate Republican Proposal Will Help Americans Go Safely Back to School, College and Child Care and Prepare for Future Pandemics
WASHINGTON, September 9, 2020 - Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said a new Republican proposal to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic will "help Americans go safely back to school, college and child care and prepare for future pandemics." The Delivering Immediate Relief to America's Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act "provides $105 billion to help schools re-open and gives parents more choices of schools for their children, $1… Continue Reading
08.08.20
Alexander Statement on Executive Orders
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, August 8, 2020 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on President Trump's executive orders to provide COVID-19 relief: "The president is doing all he can to help workers, students and renters, but Congress is the one who should be acting. Democrats should stop blocking common sense proposals to help students going back to school and college and parents going back to work who need child care." ###… Continue Reading
07.31.20
Alexander: NIH “Shark Tank” is Doing in Months What Usually Takes Three to Seven Years
"This is the surest path toward normalcy until we have a vaccine. Thanks to NIH's 'Shark Tank,' scientists are transforming COVID-19 testing by fast tracking new technologies with a goal of producing tens of millions more diagnostic tests this fall that can deliver results in minutes, instead of waiting days for a laboratory to send a result." - Senator Lamar Alexander MARYVILLE, Tennessee, July 31, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the "Shark Tank"… Continue Reading
07.30.20
Alexander: Make Telehealth Changes Permanent
"The COVID-19 pandemic has led to one of the most dramatic developments in the delivery of medical services ever. Congress should learn from these four months of lessons, which will likely mean that hundreds of millions of physician-patient visits will be remote or online that were in-person before." - Senator Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, July 30, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today introduced the Telehealth Modernization Act - legislation that will help en… Continue Reading
07.29.20
Alexander Votes to Confirm National Labor Relations Board Nominees
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2020 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on Senate confirmation of Marvin Kaplan and Lauren McFerran to serve as members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB): "Today the Senate confirmed two qualified nominees, one Republican, one Democrat, to the National Labor Relations Board-keeping with the bipartisan tradition of maintaining balance on the board, which has been without a Democrat member since December." … Continue Reading
07.29.20
Alexander, Murray, Pallone, Walden, Scott, Foxx Joint Statement on White House Surprise Medical Billing Report
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2020 - Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-Ore.), House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) today released the following statement on the White House's call for Congress to pass legislation ending the practice of surprise medical billing: "Patien… Continue Reading
07.27.20
To Respond to COVID-19, Alexander Introduces Bill to Help Manage Student Debt, Expand School Choice and Provide More Child Care
"If you are one of 43 million Americans with a student debt, you can continue to defer your monthly payment after October 1 if you have no income. When you do begin earning income your monthly payment will never be more than 10% of your income AFTER deducting the necessities of life such as rent or mortgage and food." - Sen. Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, July 27, 2020 - In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Senate health and education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today introduced … Continue Reading
07.22.20
Alexander: Give Parents More Choices of All Schools for Their Children
"Giving children more opportunity to choose their school is a real answer to inequality in America." - Senator Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, July 22, 2020 - Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) cosponsored the "School Choice Now Act," legislation introduced today by committee member Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), saying the bill will give families "more options for their children's education at a time that school is more important than ever." "All parents, regardless of … Continue Reading
07.22.20
Scott and Chairman Alexander Introduce School Choice Now Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Congressional School Choice Caucus co-chair, introduced the School Choice Now Act - legislation that ensures all students will return to their pre-pandemic educational institutions. Senator Scott was joined by Senate Education Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN). "Growing up in a single-parent household in a distressed neighborhood, I fully understand what it means to be overlooked and underserved. As a supporter of School Choice legislation, I… Continue Reading
07.22.20
Senate Education Committee Chairman Publishes Resource Webpage to Help Schools Plan to Reopen Safely in the Fall
"Nothing was more disruptive to American life, and nothing would help lead it back toward normalcy than for our 135,000 public and private K-12 schools to reopen safely this fall." - Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) WASHINGTON, July 22, 2020 - The Senate Education Committee Chairman today published a webpage featuring a collection of resources to assist the efforts of states and local school districts and private schools to reopen schools safely in the fall, including federal guidance, hea… Continue Reading
07.21.20
Alexander Proposes “No Income. No Monthly Payment.” For 43 Million Student Loan Borrowers
"In other words, if you have a student loan, your monthly payment is ZERO if you do not have any income, for whatever reason. When you do begin earning income, your monthly payment will never be more than 10 percent of your income AFTER you deduct the necessities of life, such as the cost of housing and food." - Senator Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, July 21, 2020 - Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) proposed today that 43 million student loan borrowers be able to con… Continue Reading
07.20.20
Senate Health Chairman Alexander Introduces Bill to Prepare for the Next Pandemic
"Let's not succumb to the familiar dangerous habit of 'Panic. Neglect. Panic.' Congress can take these three steps to keep vaccine manufacturing on shore and stockpiles supplied, now, while the pandemic has our attention, while we have our eye on the ball." - Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) WASHINGTON, July 20, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today introduced the Preparing for the Next Pandemic Act - legislation that will maintain sufficient onshore manufa… Continue Reading
07.13.20
Chairman Alexander Statement on Democratic White Paper on COVID-19 Vaccines
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, July 13, 2020 - Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the Democratic white paper on COVID-19 vaccines: "The United States is developing safe and effective vaccines for a new virus faster than at any other time in our history. Democrats and Republicans should be working together to help further accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of new tests, treatments and vaccines, and I look forwar… Continue Reading
