Press Releases

WASHINGTON, September 17 – Republican committee leaders in the Senate and House today called on the Obama administration to provide details on the security of HealthCare.gov after a report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) found systemic security weaknesses in the website, many because of administration actions, that...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today applauded approval of three bipartisan HELP Committee bills. The Traumatic Brain Injury Reauthorization Act of 2014 and S.2511, a bill to amend the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, were both...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 – Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) made the following statement on the report released tonight by the Government Accountability Office detailing security weaknesses at Healthcare.gov that put Americans’ sensitive personal information at risk: “The president and his administration launched Healthcare.gov...

WASHINGTON, September 16 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), said today the United States and other countries must respond more urgently to the threat of Ebola, which he said is “as deadly and dangerous as ISIS.” At a joint Senate hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Senate...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “In March of this year, public health officials reported an outbreak of Ebola virus in the West African country of Guinea. Unlike past Ebola outbreaks that have been efficiently and effectively stopped, this outbreak has spread in ways that are potentially catastrophic for the world. Due to the gravity of the...

  Washington, D.C., Sept. 16 - Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today introduced the NLRB Reform Act to turn the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from an advocate to an umpire and keep the general counsel from operating as an activist for one side or the other. McConnell said:...

*** “There is no known cure. Half of those who get sick die. Each sick person could put 20 or more other people at risk, including caregivers, friends, or family.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 – Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said today that the nation’s leaders “must take the deadly, dangerous...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan group of Senate and House leaders today announced a legislative agreement to improve and reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. Negotiated by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Representatives John Kline (R-MN), George...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A bipartisan group of House and Senate leaders today announced a legislative agreement to improve and reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. Negotiated by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Representative John Kline (R-MN), Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Representatives George Miller (D-CA), Todd Rokita (R-IN),...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, applauded Senate passage of the bipartisan Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2014. The bill would continue the 30 years of care provided through the Emergency Medical Services for...

“Parents of the more than 600,000 children who receive emergency medical treatment at Tennessee hospitals every year deserve to know their child is receiving the best medical care possible—especially during already stressful and unexpected times.” –Lamar Alexander  Washington, D.C., Sept. 11 – U.S. Senator Lamar...

  WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), today voted against moving to Democrats’ proposal to create more litigation and less workplace flexibility. “Last year, 33 Tennesseans filed charges against their employers under the Equal Pay Act, which gives them tools to fight wage discrimination without...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced two bills that seek to fulfill the promise of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that ensures access to a free, high-quality public education for children with disabilities. The IDEA...

*** “I am concerned that the businesses and workers who count on the NLRB for stability are being asked to rely on the judgment of someone who chose instead to create confusion and instability.” –Lamar Alexander   Washington, D.C., September 9 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate...

“We are holding this hearing today because at the end of the year there will be a vacancy at the National Labor Relations Board resulting from the departure of Member Nancy Schiffer. I would like to take a moment to thank Ms. Schiffer for her service. The President has nominated an exceptionally well-qualified and dedicated public...

*** “It's hard enough to go to college without having to wade through answering 108 questions, 106 of which are unnecessary—and then have to waste time and money redoing the application forms because the Department itself can't keep up with the complexity."    –Lamar Alexander  MARYVILLE,...

NASHVILLE, Tenn., September 4 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement on the news that a hacker gained access and uploaded malicious software onto HealthCare.gov: “This security failure is unacceptable—this administration has an...

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) led a group of Congressional Democrats today in calling for the Obama Administration to strengthen its oversight of food and beverage companies and ensure that they are making progress on reducing unhealthy food marketing to children. In a letter sent to...

  Washington, D.C., Sept. 2- Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the top Republicans on the Senate committees overseeing health policy, today released a joint report dispelling eight major claims from the Obama administration on the president’s health care law. Alexander, the senior Republican on the Senate HELP...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—With e-cigarette use among middle and high schoolers still on the rise, nine Members of Congress responded to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that adolescents who had used e-cigarettes were more likely to express intentions to smoke conventional cigarettes than those who...