Ranking Member's Press

*** “After the parent, a teacher is the most important person in a child’s life. So, what can we do to create an environment in which the best teachers can succeed?...I’d like to review the requirements we impose from Washington on teacher colleges today and make sure they’re current and that they’re useful and that...

Washington, D.C., March 25– U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement before the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius: “Obamacare is a thumb in the...

JACKSON, Tenn., March 21 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement on the fourth anniversary of Obamacare this Sunday, March 23: “Look back at the health care debate as the president rammed his bill through Congress four years ago and...

Washington, DC – A bipartisan group of senators is urging the FDA to provide further clarity and transparency in its policy regarding medical mobile apps.  Senators Michael Bennet, Orrin Hatch, Tom Harkin, Lamar Alexander, Mark Warner, and Richard Burr urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to further clarify rules for medical...

Washington, D.C., March 14 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate labor committee, today released the following statement on the president’s order to change overtime rules: “The president’s directive—combined with his support for a minimum wage hike, his executive order increasing...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., March 14 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate education committee, today released the following statement on the administration’s proposed gainful employment rule: “To take 841 pages of regulations to define two words in the higher education law shows exactly what is wrong...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Bipartisan legislation to help American families access safe, affordable, and quality child care has cleared the Senate with strong support from senators on both sides of the aisle. U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Richard Burr (R-NC) released the following statements today...

*** “Now that the legislation has established who is on the flagpole, FDA and states can take the action necessary to ensure compounded drugs are safe in the facilities that they regulate.” –Lamar Alexander Washington, D.C., March 13 – At a Senate health committee hearing today with Food and Drug Administration Commissioner...

Senators say they will consider options such as the Congressional Review Act to prevent the rule from taking effect WASHINGTON, March 13 – Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), John Thune (R-S.D.) and 22 of their Republican colleagues today called on the Obama administration to immediately rescind its rule creating an...

*** “There are better ideas: reform refundable tax credits to benefit all low-income workers, replace long-term unemployment compensation with job training, change Obamacare’s work week definition from 30 hours to 40 to encourage full-time jobs, and use existing federal education dollars to give children of low-income families a $2,100...

WASHINGTON, March 6 – Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today called on the administration to provide details on its plan to grant health care providers exemptions from new electronic health records regulations instead of granting...

*** “If we don’t make tough decisions now, we’ll have let America slip from the hands of the ‘greatest generation’ to the ‘debt-paying generation’ with nothing to show for it but the bill.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, March 4 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said President...

Washington, D.C., Feb. 27 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today voted against moving President Obama’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, out of committee and to the Senate floor. “The surgeon general is known as ‘the nation’s doctor.’ He...

*** “One of the great advantages of our system of higher education is that our government support follows the student to the institution of their choice. So, a student with a disability can select a college campus that's a friendly environment.” –Lamar Alexander Washington, D.C., Feb. 27...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last evening, U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) co-hosted the first in a series of monthly lectures for senators and their staff on the deaf community and its culture.  The lectures will take place over the next five months and are intended to help senators and their staffers expand their...

Washington, D.C., Feb. 25 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement on the Obama administration report that 65 percent of small businesses will see health insurance premiums increase under Obamacare: “Now even the Obama administration admits...

NASHVILLE, Feb. 21 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement on the Obama administration’s proposal to reduce Medicare Advantage payments: "This is dismal news for seniors who choose Medicare Advantage, more than one in four of everyone using...

NASHVILLE, Feb. 21 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the senior Republican on the Senate labor committee, today released the following statement on the UAW’s appeal to the National Labor Relations Board of last week’s election at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant:  “Labor laws are written to allow employees to...

Nashville, Feb. 20 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, released the following statement on the White House announcement that President Obama has dropped chained CPI from his budget this year: “Using the most accurate measure of inflation for entitlement spending and tax...

Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 20 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to clarify the administration’s position on patient access to personal health information. The FDA last year said in a warning letter to genetic test...