Ranking Member's Press

WASHINGTON – Today, a bicameral group of 23 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, calling on the Administration to pull a pending rule that would reverse course on curbing opioid drug abuse.  Under the 2012 proposed rule, innovations for abuse-deterrent formulations would be subject to additional...

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 28 – Franchisees across the country are urging Congress to roll back the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent “joint employer” decision, which the chairman of the Senate labor committee says “threatens to steal the American dream from owners of the nation’s 780,000...

“Memphis-area medical devices are the top export of the region, accounting for $3.2 billion of the region's $11.3 billion in exports. The Memphis area and the state of Tennessee are at the forefront of this technology that is so crucial to improving Americans’ health and quality of life.” MEMPHIS, Oct. 26 – U.S. Senator...

NASHVILLE - U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate education committee and a former U.S. education secretary, released the following statement on the president's remarks today about "over-testing" in K-12 education: "The president is on the right track, but the real reason we have too many tests is that we have too many federal...

WASHINGTON, D.C. October 23 – The chairmen of the U.S. Senate and House education committees today called on a federal agency with authority over consumer financial products to immediately halt its “unprecedented” investigation into a college accreditor. Senate chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and House chairman John Kline...

“This bill will help ensure that federal programs are more effective in preventing and treating opioid use disorders among pregnant women to increase their chances of having healthy children.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, D.C., October 22 – Citing a tenfold increase in Tennessee of infants suffering health problems from...

“This is a direct response to the concern that State Representative Bill Dunn, law enforcement officials, doctors and community leaders in Knoxville had about whether the patient satisfaction survey actually encouraged the overprescribing of painkilling opioids.” – Lamar Alexander  WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 20 – U.S....

 “The administration has a tin ear. We asked: ‘Why spend a year modifying rushed up mistakes? Why not spend a year getting it right in the first place?’ They listened but they did not hear.” – Lamar Alexander  WASHINGTON, D.C., October 6 – The chairman of the Senate health committee today said...

 “It is the biggest attack on the opportunity for small businessmen and women in this country to make their way into the middle class that we’ve seen in a long, long time.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, D.C., October 6 – The chairman of the Senate labor committee today urged Senate Democrats to support...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 2 – Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today made the following statement on the announcement that Education Secretary Arne Duncan will step down in December: “Arne Duncan was one of the president’s best appointments. He has a big heart, cares about children, and I have...

“Making [this program] succeed is essential to the biomedical research and innovation legislation we hope to finish this year.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 1 – Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today gave administration officials five reasons to take more time before making...

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 30 – The chairman and ranking member of the Senate health committee today urged Senate passage of their legislation to extend programs to help prevent suicide among youths, ensure the nation’s health care system is better prepared to provide support to children and families in the wake of traumatic...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 30 – A study done by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), known as the “Congressional Watchdog,” revealed that the federal government’s program to require doctors and hospitals to adopt electronic health records systems is actually standing in the way of...

“This bill will help ensure that federal programs are more effective in helping pregnant women struggling with opioid use disorders, so that they get the help they need and have healthy babies.” – Lamar Alexander   WASHINGTON, D.C., September 30 – Citing a tenfold increase in Tennessee of infants born addicted to,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two Senate committee chairmen urged the administration to immediately adopt stage two modifications for the federal government’s program to require doctors and hospitals to create electronic health records systems and make the rules for stage three final no sooner than January 1, 2017.  The call from...

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Steve Daines (R-MT) today sent a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez to challenge the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recent use of an expedited regulatory guidance process rather than a more transparent...

“Since when did OSHA get in the business of trying to figure out if a franchisee and franchisor are joint employers or not?  Why does OSHA care about that? Why isn’t OSHA interested in health and safety?” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 23 – The chairman of the Senate labor committee today said...

“Bullying is a serious problem. But the United States Senate doesn’t agree that the federal government ought to be telling the local school what its bullying policy ought to be. So how does the Department of Education get the right to make a guidance which will be under Title IX, when the head of Title IX thinks everybody she issues a...

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 22 – Small business owners and business groups are urging Congress to pass legislation introduced earlier this month by senior Republican lawmakers to roll back the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) “joint employer” decision, which the chairmen of the House and Senate labor committees...

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 18 – Senate labor committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and employment and workplace safety subcommittee chairman Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today called for the Department of Labor (DOL) to resolve safety failures in its Job Corps program, after two students were murdered in separate attacks...