Important news from this week:
-
This week, I asked U.S. Health and
Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar about the specific steps the
Trump Administration and state and local health systems are taking to
protect Americans against the coronavirus.
-
The U.S. Senate confirmed Katherine MacGregor, with my
support, who is President Trump’s nominee to serve as Deputy Secretary
of the Department of Interior. In her confirmation hearing, she
expressed her strong support and the Trump Administration’s strong
support for the Restore Our Parks Act – legislation I introduced that would be the greatest help to our national
parks, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in 50
years.
- Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation announced that more than
six thousand acres of land will be added to the Justin P. Wilson
Cumberland Trail State Park, ensuring even more of Tennessee’s
beautiful land, water resources and recreation areas will be available for
future generations to enjoy.
Protecting Americans against the
Coronavirus
** Click here or on the above image to
hear my conversation with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex
Azar **
This week, I talked with
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar about the
specific steps the Trump Administration and state and local health systems
are taking to protect Americans against the coronavirus – a viral
disease that was first detected in Wuhan, China. The Administration
is doing an excellent job of keeping Americans safe so far—in
other countries this virus has spread at an alarming rate, but an
effective effort in our country has limited the number of cases to 15. On
Wednesday, President Trump announced Vice President Pence will lead the
Administration’s response to the coronavirus, and I agree with
him that putting a vice president who was once a governor in charge of
an effort that depends on federal, state and local cooperation makes
sense as a way to continue to keep Americans safe. As chairman of the
Senate health committee, I will continue to work to make sure that
the Administration is implementing the preparedness and response
framework for emerging public health threats that Congress has already
provided. Next Tuesday, my committee is holding a hearing to
find out more about what the Administration is doing to prevent spread of
the coronavirus and what steps have been taken to coordinate the
federal response.
Even on the busiest weeks, Tennessee Tuesday is a
priority for me and Senator Marsha Blackburn. We enjoy welcoming
Tennesseans to our nation’s capital. Sign up here if you’re in Washington on a Tuesday and come by and see
us.
Trump Administration committed to ending surprise medical
billing
I also received a commitment from HHS Secretary Azar that passing my legislation
to end the practice of medical billing – which affects one in
five emergency room patients – is a top priority of the Trump
Administration. Surprise medical billing occurs when a patient receives a
bill in the mail for hundreds or thousands of dollars that they
didn’t expect because while the hospital the patient went to was
in-network, the doctor who treated them was not. Secretary Azar said that
ending surprise billing is a “very high priority for the
president” and that we need to get a bipartisan, bicameral solution
passed into law. I agree and will continue to work with House committees
and Senators to bring a bill to the president’s
desk.
I had a great
meeting with the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta this week. I always
appreciate meeting with them and hearing their concerns.
Protecting an important path to the middle
class
The National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) released a final rule this week that is good news for the men and
women operating our nation’s 733,000 franchise establishments.
The ability to own and operate a franchise is one of the best
opportunities Americans have to work their way into the middle class, but a
decision by the Obama-era NLRB threatened that opportunity. Under the
Obama-era standard, companies can find it much more practical to own all
their stores and restaurants and day care centers themselves, rather
than encourage more franchisee-owned small businesses. The final
rule returns to the standard that existed for decades which required
that a business must actually exercise direct control over
employees’ terms and conditions of employment to be considered a “joint
employer.” The NLRB’s final rule provides clarity and
predictability and helps protect this important path to the middle class
for small businessmen and women.
I had a good meeting with Clay Bright, Commissioner of the
Tennessee Department of Transportation. I appreciate the important work
he does for our state.
