Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk
*Important news from
this week:*
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Honey and I continue to pray for the Tennesseans
impacted by Tuesday's catastrophic storms. It's always shocking to see
the damage a tornado can do, and I'm grateful for our state's first
responders. President Trump has approved Tennessee's request for federal
disaster assistance, and I will continue working with Governor Lee's
office and other local officials to make sure we that we do everything
within our ability to respond to the needs of Tennesseans and their
communities.
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On Thursday, Governor Lee announced Tennessee's
first confirmed case of the coronavirus. The Senate approved this week,
with my support, nearly $8 billion in funding, including $950 million
for state and local governments. Those dollars, along with screening
and travel restrictions on people coming from China and other affected
places, and a speed up in making diagnostic kits available to detect
coronavirus are all a part of that effort. The Trump Administration is
using the resources and tools that Congress has provided to respond to
the coronavirus and the federal government is doing everything we can
to assist Tennesseans.
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President Donald Trump announced his
support for bipartisan legislation to fully fund the Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF) and cut in half the $12 billion maintenance
backlog in our national parks, which would provide much needed assistance to
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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The Senate passed the
Older Americans Act, which supports programs like meals on wheels and
grants to states so they can help seniors live more comfortably at
home or ensure high-quality care at a nursing home.
*Visiting
Tennessee communities impacted by Tuesday's catastrophic
tornadoes*
Tennesseans who were impacted by Tuesday's storms continue to be in my
prayers, particularly those whose loved ones were injured or killed. I
have seen floods, and I have seen fires - the damage they cause is
terrible, but there is nothing quite like seeing what a tornado can do.
It can arrive in 30 seconds or a minute and then be gone, leaving
behind it death and buildings laid flat to the ground. I have been
visiting the areas affected by this storm, and it's heart-wrenching to see
the devastation caused by the tornadoes, but we are taking aggressive
action to help Tennessee families recover. My office has been in touch
with mayors in all of the counties and communities affected, and
Senator Blackburn and I are working together, along with the rest of the
Tennessee delegation, to ensure that we give full federal support to
Governor Lee. We will do everything we can to help Tennesseans and their
communities rebuild and recover.
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President Trump visited
some of Tennessee's affected communities, and I appreciate his support.
Tennesseans are resilient, and we will come through this difficult
time stronger than ever. (Photo credit to George Walker IV, The
Tennessean)
*The Trump Administration, Congress are prepared to fight
the coronavirus*
On Thursday, I voted to provide $7.8 billion in
funding to fight coronavirus, including $950 million for state and local
governments. Those dollars, the travel restrictions on people coming
from China and certain other locations, and a speed up in making
diagnostic kits available are all a part of an effort that makes the United
States among the countries that is best prepared to keep Tennesseans
- and all Americans - safe from the coronavirus
I also chaired
[link 1] a hearing in the Senate health committee this week on the
coronavirus to hear from respected professionals with decades of experience,
who are the right people to give Americans accurate information about
the coronavirus, about both what individuals can do and what the
federal government is doing to respond.
Around the world, the spread of
the coronavirus is alarming, with around 100,000 cases in at least 85
countries and over 3,000 deaths. This week, Governor Lee announced the
first case of the coronavirus in Tennessee, and the United States has
over 200 cases, according to some news reports. But the fact remains
that most people in the United States are at low-risk, and the United
States is one of the countries best prepared to deal with the
coronavirus.
Here is what the New York Times said on their front page on
Sunday: "Much about the coronavirus remains unclear, and it is far from
certain that the outbreak will reach severe proportions in the United
States or affect many regions at once. With its top-notch scientists,
modern hospitals and sprawling public health infrastructure, most
experts agree, the United States is among the countries best prepared to
prevent or manage such an epidemic."
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I
enjoyed talking with 8th grade students from Sacred Heart School in
Knoxville during their trip to Washington.
*President Trump supports most important conservation legislation in 50
years*
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President Donald Trump announced his support this
week for bipartisan legislation to fully fund the Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF) and to cut in half the $12 billion maintenance
backlog in our national parks. This bipartisan legislation combines two
bills that together make it the most important piece of conservation
legislation in the last half century. It includes my Restore Our Parks
Act, which will cut in half the deferred maintenance backlog for the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and other national
parks, in addition to fully funding the LWCF permanently, which has been a
goal of Congress for 55 years. None of this would have happened
without bipartisan support and none of this would have happened without
President Trump's strong support and endorsement of both bills.
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I had a good meeting with American Israel
Public Affairs Committee this week. It's always good to hear from them
and discuss our country's support of Israel.
*Working to increase funding for Oak Ridge National Laboratory*
I
held a hearing this week to review President Trump's fiscal year 2021
budget request for the U.S. Department of Energy, which funds important
energy research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in East Tennessee. As
chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Energy
Department, I will work to ensure that our 17 national labs, including
Oak Ridge, have the federal funding needed to achieve priorities such as
maintaining our place as the world's leader in supercomputing. I'm
pleased that this budget request proposes to continue development of
exascale supercomputers - the next generation of supercomputers -which
will be thousand times faster than the supercomputers the U.S. built in
2008. This week, Oak Ridge announced that Summit, the world's most
powerful supercomputer, is being used to identify potential treatments
for coronavirus.
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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 [link 2] if you're in Washington on a Tuesday and come by and see
us.
*Below are some articles from this week I thought
you would enjoy:*
*WATE-ABC Knoxville Channel 6: Sen. Lamar
Alexander addressing his concerns on the coronavirus* [link 3]
*Associated
Press: Senators reach $2B deal to boost conservation, parks* [link
4]
*WKRN-ABC Nashville Channel 2: Congress works to break gridlock on
surprise medical billing* [link 5]
*WRCB-NBC Chattanooga Channel
3: Senators Marsha Blackburn and Lamar Alexander releases video
following storm in Nashville and Middle Tennessee [link 6]*
Cherish
our country
*#307**in Lamar Alexander's Little Plaid Book*
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