Chair's Press

Washington, D.C., March 14 – At a hearing today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (Video HERE) on legislation to raise the minimum wage by more than 39 percent and mandate automatic increases every year by the rate of inflation, Ranking Member U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said the proposal, “while...

Washington, D.C., March 14 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today praised the signing into law of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013, a bipartisan effort to ensure that the nation is prepared to respond to a wide...

Washington, D.C., March 6 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Tuesday said the health care law is “making it more difficult to lower the unemployment rate in this country, which has stayed too high with more than 12 million people still...

Washington, D.C., March 5 – In a speech on the floor of the Senate (VIDEO HERE), U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today said President Obama’s leadership was “a colossal failure, because he will not respect this Congress and work with it in a...

Washington, D.C., March 1 – Senior Senate Republicans on committees overseeing labor, health and education programs today sought details from the administration on the methodology behind its sequestration plans, which appear designed to “dramatically cut funding for programs that serve some of the most vulnerable populations.” In...

Washington, D.C., February 28 –Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today praised passage by the Senate of a bill to improve the nation’s ability to prepare for, and respond to, pandemics and bioterror attacks. “The threat of a bioterror attack or flu...

WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced the American Job Protection Act, legislation to repeal the job-killing employer mandate that was included in the President’s $2.6 trillion...

Washington, D.C., February 27 – At a hearing today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Ranking Member Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) praised the results of the animal drug user fee programs and said he would work to get the Animal Drug User Fee Act and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Act reauthorized before...

Washington, D.C., February 26 – At a hearing today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee where Governor Jack Markell of Delaware testified about his initiative as chair of the National Governors Association to increase employment among individuals with disabilities, Ranking Member U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the president’s nomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, both of whom were ruled unconstitutional appointments by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: “The president...

WASHINGTON, February 13 – Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today praised the passage in the committee of their bill to reduce infant deaths and disabilities by expanding research, education, and intervention activities related to...

Washington, D.C., February 13 – At an executive session today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Ranking Member U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced that Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) will serve as Republican subcommittee leaders. Alexander said,...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after the president’s State of the Union speech tonight: “I’m disappointed because the president missed a golden opportunity to present a serious plan to deal with the most serious problem facing our country – how to preserve...

Washington, D.C., February 8 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today announced he is a cosponsor of the Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act, a bill introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), to repeal the...

Washington, D.C., February 7 – At a hearing today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Ranking Member U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Congress should “go back to work this year” on a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and “let the Secretary step back from...

Washington, D.C., February 7 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement on the recent Congressional Budget Office report that seven million Americans will lose their job-based health care as a result of the new health care...

WASHINGTON, February 7 – Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Reps. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), today introduced legislation to reduce infant deaths and disabilities by expanding research, education, and intervention activities related to preterm birth. Sen. Alexander said: “This...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) along with Senators Harkin, Enzi, Casey, and Alexander introduced the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013, a bipartisan effort to ensure that our nation is prepared to respond to a wide range of medical and public health emergencies, whether naturally...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today announced the following staff changes stemming from his election as the top Republican, or Ranking Member, of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee: At the committee, Alexander’s current legislative director, David P. Cleary, will...

MARYVILLE, Feb. 1 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today announced he is an original cosponsor of a bill in the U.S. Senate that he said would help reduce the negative impact excessive regulation has on the economy. “For too long, the federal government has been throwing a big, wet blanket over the economy with unrealistic...