Ranking Member's Press

“The House has completed its work on the 21st Century Cures Act, the president has announced his support for a Precision Medicine Initiative and a ‘cancer moonshot’—and with this bipartisan action in committee today, we’ve shown the Senate’s potential to be the vehicle that turns these groundbreaking ideas into...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 4 – Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today announced the Senate committee overseeing public health policy will hold a hearing on the Zika virus on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. Alexander said: “Americans have many questions about the Zika virus, as we have...

“To best restrain the growth of drug prices, we must encourage investment in life-saving therapies, avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens that slow down development and drive up costs, and ensure the marketplace remains competitive.” WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 28 –  The chairman of the Senate health committee today said...

NASHVILLE, Tenn., January 26 – Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement commemorating National School Choice Week 2016: “Since World War II, federal dollars following students to the colleges of their choice have helped build the best system of higher education in the...

Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 25 – Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) made the following statement on today’s Congressional Budget Office report projecting that Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund will be exhausted in 2026: “Millions of Americans are counting the days until they are eligible for...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 20 – To inform the committee’s final legislation, Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today released for feedback a staff discussion draft of the committee’s bipartisan legislation to improve health information technology, including...

“I look forward to hearing from the doctors, nurses, advocates and administrators who work every day with Americans who struggle with a mental health condition about how the federal government can help patients, health care providers, communities, and states to better address mental health issues.” WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan....

 “The House has completed its work on the 21st Century Cures Act. The president has announced his support for a precision medicine initiative and a cancer ‘moonshot.’ It is urgent that the Senate finish its work and turn into law these ideas that will help virtually every American.” WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan....

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2015 – U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement on President Obama’s last State of the Union address: “Last year the Republican Senate majority made a real difference by passing several pieces of bipartisan legislation that will help American families, including the first...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 12 – Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today made the following statement on the Senate health committee’s approval of Dr. Robert Califf to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): “The FDA affects the lives of nearly every single American and regulates about a quarter of all consumer spending...

MARYVILLE, Tenn., January 6 – The chairman of the Senate health committee today urged President Obama to sign legislation to repeal Obamacare after it passed the House of Representatives. The Senate voted to pass this legislation last month. Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said, “Unfortunately Republicans were right when we...

With Republicans in charge, 4 Senate HELP Committee bills signed into law—including legislation fixing No Child Left Behind and “reversing the trend toward a National School Board”   WASHINGTON, December 22 – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today highlighted...

WASHINGTON, December 18 – The chairman and ranking member of the Senate health committee today urged House passage of their legislation to help state and local communities prevent suicide, help children recover from traumatic events, and help improve mental health awareness for teachers and others. The bipartisan Mental Health Awareness...

WASHINGTON, December 18 – The chairman and ranking member of the Senate education committee today commended Senate passage of legislation to “improve the quality of education research and make research more relevant and usable for teachers, principals, school districts and states.” “This bill makes research on education...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 17 – The chairman of the Senate education committee today made the following statement on his legislation to extend the Perkins Loan Program for two years, which now heads to the president’s desk for signature after passage today in the House: “My goal in the Senate education committee is to find...

WASHINGTON, December 16 – The chairman of the Senate health committee today said that guidance released by the Obama administration that tells states how they can obtain waivers from Obamacare is “not much flexibility and not much relief.” “This so-called waiver provides surprisingly little relief from Obamacare, which...

WASHINGTON – House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), along with Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), released the following statements after President...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 9 – U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today, after the Senate passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, 85-12, said he hopes “President Obama will wrap a big red bow around it and sign it” for 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools. “Mr. President, the United States...

“By restoring responsibility to states and classroom teachers, we are inaugurating a new era of innovation and excellence in student achievement   ... [and] in the future, the path to higher standards, better teaching and real accountability will be through states, communities and classrooms and not through Washington,...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 9 – Following Senate passage today by 85-12, the Every Student Succeeds Act to fix No Child Left Behind, sponsored by Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), heads to the president’s desk. The House of Representatives...