Ranking Member's Press

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2020 — U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech:    “Producing a 95 percent effective vaccine in 8 months instead of the...

Washington, D.C. – Today, key House and Senate Committee leaders announced a bipartisan agreement on legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills and establish a fair framework to resolve payment disputes between health care providers and health insurance companies.    The deal was agreed to by House Energy and...

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how to gum up the works of a body of one hundred that operates mainly by unanimous consent. Here’s my view: it’s hard to get here, hard to stay here, and while you’re here, you might as well try to accomplish something good for the country. But it’s hard to accomplish...

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, November 9, 2020 — Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) “should focus his time and resources on planning to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in New York once they are approved by the career scientists at the Food and Drug...

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, October 29, 2020 — Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the Trump Administration is “doing the right thing by providing free COVID-19 vaccines for tens of millions of Americans including seniors and low-income families,” after the Trump Administration released a plan that...

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, October 29, 2020 — Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the Trump Administration’s final rule requiring health insurers to disclose price and out-of-pocket costs information will protect patients and contain costs, adding that Congress should do its part by passing the bipartisan,...

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, October 29, 2020 — Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the Trump Administration’s final rule requiring health insurers to disclose price and out-of-pocket costs information will protect patients and contain costs, adding that Congress should do its part by passing the bipartisan,...

WASHINGTON, October 24, 2020 — The Chairman of the U.S. Senate health committee said today that the governors of New York and California should respect career scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and stop second guessing the scientists’ decisions on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. The...

WASHINGTON, October 21, 2020 — United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today voted for COVID-19 relief legislation that was blocked by Senate Democrats. “For the second time in two months, Senate Democrats have blocked legislation that would provide an additional $500 billion in COVID-19 relief for many things that...

MARYVILLE, Tenn., October 19, 2020 — U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement:  “Dr. Fauci is one of our country’s most distinguished public servants. He has served six presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan. If more Americans paid attention to his advice,...

WASHINGTON ­– U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, today welcomed the National Institutes of...

NASHVILLE, Tenn., October 6, 2020 — Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement regarding federal guidance for COVID-19 vaccines: “The White House is correct to endorse and not change the standards established by career scientists at the Food and Drug...

MARYVILLE, Tenn., September 29, 2020 - United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced distribution of the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 tests: “The Trump Administration announcement that it will send 130,000 new rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tests to Tennessee...

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...

“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...

“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...

** 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....

“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...

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...

“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...