Ranking Member's Press

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 – A group of 21 Republican senators today urged the administration to prohibit union health plans from receiving a carve-out in Obamacare, specifically premium assistance tax credits that are intended for the uninsured to purchase health insurance – a benefit no non-union member in America would receive. In a letter...

*** "I am going to be looking for long-term solutions on a restructuring of the National Labor Relations Board that will ensure that it is more likely to be an umpire and an adjudicator than an advocate, whether the president is a Democrat or a Republican.”– Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, Sept. 18—The senior Republican on the U.S....

*** "This legislation puts vouchers in the hands of many working mothers so they can make their own decisions about what child care suits their needs the best.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 - The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate labor committee released the following statement on passage of the Child Care and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) applauded the passage of the bipartisan Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2013 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. This bill reauthorizes and...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate labor committee released the following statement on the President’s speech today on the economy:   Sen. Lamar Alexander (R. Tenn) said: “The president’s policies are hurting American workers. Today, 7.3 percent of Americans qualify as unemployed, while...

KNOXVILLE, Sept. 13—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee today said a new requirement that certain painkillers come with a warning to mothers and prescribers that chronic use during pregnancy can cause babies to suffer from life-threatening withdrawal “should help Tennessee combat the epidemic of babies addicted to...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee this week joined in introducing a bill and an amendment to delay the health care law’s employer and individual mandates until 2015. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said: “Full repeal of this law is my goal—no family in Tennessee should ever be...

NASHVILLE, Sept. 9—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee today released the following statement on the news that the health care law is forcing an end to Cover Tennessee, a state program created in 2006 to help provide affordable coverage to Tennesseans who are uninsured or have pre-existing conditions: Sen. Lamar...

KINGSPORT, Tenn., August 28—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee released the following statement today on the administration’s delay until mid-September in signing final agreements with insurance plans to be sold on the health insurance exchanges on October 1: Sen. Lamar Alexander (R. Tenn) said: "I've been warning...

A new law I worked to help enact lowers interest rates for every new federal student loan this year, making it easier for 11 million borrowers — including 200,000 Tennessee students — to pay for college. Undergraduates will pay 3.86 percent interest instead of 6.8 percent under previous law, graduate students with Stafford loans will...

WASHINGTON, August 22 – Senator Lamar Alexander (R- Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate’s education committee today released the following statement in response to President Obama’s higher education proposal: “The president and Congress took a good first step last month in helping students afford college by lowering...

*** "It is deeply troubling to hear of more patients who may have been harmed by tainted compounding drugs…We know the problem, we have the solution, and it’s up to Congress to pass this bill as soon as it returns.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, August 12—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health policy...

*** "This permanent, market-based plan makes loans cheaper, simpler and more certain for the 11 million students nationwide – including more than 200,000 in Tennessee – heading to college this fall.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, August 9— Sen. Lamar Alexander (R. Tenn), the senior Republican on the U.S. Senate...

WASHINGTON, August 1—A group of 39 Republican Senators today called on the White House to provide details on efforts by at least 21 federal agencies to help implement the new health care law—specifically, “agencies with no responsibilities” to implement or promote under that law. In a letter to White House Counsel Kathryn...

WASHINGTON, July 31 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the U.S. Senate education committee, today released the following statement on passage by the House of Representatives, by a vote of 392 to 31, of the bipartisan student-loan bill Alexander and a bipartisan group of senators cosponsored in the...

WASHINGTON, July 31—Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the U.S. Senate education committee, on Tuesday joined committee members Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) along with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah),  in hosting a forum on school choice, where the...

WASHINGTON, July 30—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate labor committee said today that the president’s withdrawal of two National Labor Relations Board nominees whose appointments have been ruled unconstitutional by multiple federal courts was “an important moment in the history of our ability as a country to maintain checks...

By Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Tim Scott, Mitch McConnell and Lamar Alexander One of the most important things we do as a society is educate our kids. Opportunity in education is the gateway to opportunity everywhere else -- in our economy, in our society and in our democracy. All children, no matter who they are or where they live, deserve an...

WASHINGTON D.C., July 25 – A bipartisan coalition of senators on the U.S. Senate committee overseeing health policy today urged Senate action on their legislation to help prevent another compounding crisis like the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that has led to 61 deaths and 749 illnesses, as well as protect the nation’s drug supply...

WASHINGTON, July 25 - The following documents are Kent Hirozawa and Nancy Schiffer’s responses to questions for the record submitted by Republican members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The nominees’ responses were received by the committee July 24. Please click here to see questions from Senator Lamar...