Ranking Member's Press

*** “The president is right—this law is more than a website that won’t work—it’s a mandate that many Americans are finding impossible, and it’s an historic mistake that is raising premiums, forcing employees off insurance plans, increasing out-of-pocket costs, and pushing employers to cut jobs and...

*** “We are concerned by recent comments to the media that the system suffers from architectural problems that need design changes.  We seek information about these problems as well as whether you still expect individuals to suffer a tax penalty if they do not purchase government-approved health insurance.” – Letter to HHS...

*** “These will be tough and disappointing days for many Americans, as they finally log on to the exchanges and discover that health insurance next year will cost multiple times what it costs them now.” – Lamar Alexander   WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 – As Americans begin to make their way onto the Obamacare exchanges, many are...

*** “This law is about as clear as mud, and instead of helping Americans understand their new obligations, the Obama administration has been burying important changes—not announcing them boldly, as you’d expect an administration that’s proud of its new health care law to do.” – Lamar Alexander   WASHINGTON,...

*** “I've been warning that a train wreck is coming with this law, but the truth is that no train wreck has ever had this many warning signs.” – Lamar Alexander   WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 – The Obama administration persisted with the roll out of the Obamacare exchanges on October 1, despite countless warning signs that the...

NASHVILLE, Sept. 28– Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement on the vote by the House of Representatives to delay the individual mandate, repeal the medical device tax, and keep the government operating: "To avoid a government shutdown, the Senate should...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A bipartisan group of Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee senators—Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)—today applauded the House passage of...

*** “I’m not in the shut-down-the-government crowd, I’m in the take-over-the-government crowd. Take it over the way the Constitution says: Elect more conservative senators and a president and do all we can to delay, dismantle, repeal and replace Obamacare.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 – U.S. Senator...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26. – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and committee member Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) today praised the Senate passage and urged swift House action on their bill to reduce infant deaths and disabilities by expanding research,...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 – The senior Republican on the Senate health committee today released the following statement on the administration announcement that online sign-up for Obamacare’s small business health insurance exchanges will be delayed until November: Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said: “Another day, another Obamacare...

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 26--A bipartisan group of Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee senators—Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)—announced that they have...

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Leaders from the Senate and House committees overseeing health policy today announced that they have reached an agreement on legislation to help ensure the safety of compounded drugs and our nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain. This legislation, the Drug Quality and Security Act, reflects a bipartisan, bicameral...

*** “Who do you suspect is going to get blamed for this? We will have succeeded in shifting the blame for passing Obamacare from the Democrats, who did it unanimously, to the Republicans for shutting down the government.” – Lamar Alexander  WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said...

*** "Why should a 27-year-old male in Memphis be forced to pay nearly three times what he pays today for health insurance? Why should a young woman in Nashville have to pay twice as much?”  – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, Sept. 25—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee said that an Obama...

*** "One out of 20 patients, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), goes to the hospital [and] gets an infection, …Prevention and elimination of healthcare-associated infections is crucially important.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, Sept. 24—At a Senate hearing today on healthcare-associated...

Washington, D.C. – The President’s health care law imposes a number of new taxes on American businesses and individuals that will drain money from Americans’ pocketbooks. Among the many taxes and fees imposed by Obamacare is an annual fee levied on health insurance providers which is estimated to take more than $100 billion out of...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, were joined today by several of their colleagues in sending a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, calling...

*** "Given the Department of Justice’s enormous discretion in choosing which enforcement actions to pursue, and its repeated claims that its budget is stretched too thin, it is hard to see how this case is a good use of federal resources." – Letter to Attorney General Holder WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 —The senior Republican on the U.S....

*** "Let’s write a new law…not as an ideological exercise but simply in the way that someone would weed a garden before planting a new crop.” – Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, Sept. 19—The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate education committee said today that the committee should “start from scratch” on a...

"The stakes are high – just as the decline in the auto industry sent jobs and profits overseas, a similar failure in U.S. higher education would damage our economy and send the best minds overseas.  In a highly competitive world, there is no guarantee that we will continue to produce 25% of the world’s wealth.” – Lamar...