Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk

*Important news
about the coronavirus - COVID 19:***

I know the coronavirus - or COVID
19 - is at the forefront of the minds of all Tennesseans. The United
States is, generally speaking, prepared to deal with the spread of the
coronavirus, but everyone needs to take this very seriously. The
Tennessee Department of Health's Coronavirus Public Information Line
(1-877-857-2945) is available from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT daily to answer
your questions. If you are feeling ill, please call your healthcare
provider. And the best resource for additional information is the Centers
for Disease Control:
[link removed] [link 1]

Congress has provided more than $8 billion to help
states deal with the spread of COVID19 - and just this week, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention announced the Tennessee Department
of Health and local health departments will receive more than $10
million to help fight the coronavirus.



I'm encouraged by steps the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has taken to make testing
more easily available. Laboratory developed tests are a crucial part
of our health care infrastructure, and emergency use authorizations
are the right thing to do in order to better adapt to the threat as we
learn more about it.



President Trump was also right to restrict
travel from China in January. He was right to restrict travel from
the European Union this week because more of the new infections in the
United States are coming from travelers from the European Union.




Now we have our own responsibilities - to work from home if we can,
avoid large, crowded places, and washing our hands regularly. That's
the single, most important thing each of us can do to help prevent the
spread of the virus.



Our lives might look a little different
than we're used to for a little while, but I'm still confident the
United States is prepared to stop the spread of the coronavirus and limit
its impact on all of us.



*Other important news from this
week:*

-
I introduced [link 2] - along with a bipartisan group of
senators - legislation that would be the single biggest help to our great
outdoors in over half a century. With bipartisan support in Congress
and from President Trump, I hope this legislation is passed into law
soon, so we can secure the same opportunity for future generations to
enjoy our great outdoors as we have had.

-
The Older Americans Act
is now headed to President Trump's desk to be signed into law. The
legislation provides grants to states so they can help seniors in our
state and across the country live more comfortably at home or ensure
high-quality care at a nursing home.



*Protecting our great
outdoors so future generations can enjoy them*

This week, I was glad to
help introduce [link 3] the Great American Outdoors Act - the most
important conservation and outdoor recreation legislation in the last half
century - which President Trump and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
support. This bipartisan bill will cut in half the $12 billion
maintenance backlog in our national parks, including $235 million in the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park. It will also reduce maintenance
backlogs at our national refuges and forests, like the Cherokee National
Forest or the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge in West Tennessee.
Congress should quickly pass the Great American Outdoors Act so that we can
begin to rebuild our national parks, like the Smokies, and
permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a recommendation of
President Reagan's Commission on Americans Outdoors, which I chaired.




*Tennesseans continue to show our "volunteer spirit"*

[image =
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This week, I spoke [link 5] on the Senate floor about my
trip to Tennessee with President Trump to survey damage caused by
last week's catastrophic storms. You can watch my remarks here. [link
6]

Last week, I traveled with President Trump, Governor Bill Lee,
Senator Marsha Blackburn and Congressman John Rose to visit with some of
the Tennesseans who were impacted by the tornadoes. The communities
affected are obviously very close-knit, and their reaction to this storm
was how can we help each other. The heroes were the first responders -
we met with many of them in Cookeville. The next heroes were the
volunteers - they turned out by the hundreds. These Tennesseans were very
grateful for the visit by President Trump. It was more than the fact
that this was the first time any president of the United States had
visited Cookeville. The president stayed there for a long time, and he
listened, and the folks there appreciated it very much. He and the other
federal officials announced a disaster declaration in, what seemed to
me to be record time, so, by the time we were there last Friday,
there already were federal emergency management personnel on the ground in
Tennessee, and there were multiple shelters already open. I thank the
president, other federal officials and all the volunteers who want to
help. We greatly appreciate what they've done.

If you are in
Davidson, Putnam and Wilson counties and want information on the resources
available, you may find more information here:
[link removed] [link 7]




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I appreciated the Citizens of Fort Campbell taking
the time to visit me this week. What they do is very important, and I'm
grateful for their service.



*Working to keep 150,000 more
trucks off of I-75*

* *

In the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
on Energy and Water Development, which I chair, we held a hearing [link
8] this week to review the president's budget request for the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, which funds construction of the Chickamauga
Lock in Chattanooga. Replacing Chickamauga Lock is important to all of
Tennessee. If Chickamauga Lock closes, it will throw 150,000 more trucks
onto I-75. With the money now appropriated by Congress and signed
into law by the president, we have the necessary funding to complete the
new Chickamauga chamber lock contract. This is a project that was
authorized in 2003, and because of steady funding for six consecutive
years, barges and small boats should be able to use the new lock as early
as 2023. But to finish the job, work remains to be done, which means
constructing the approach walls and tearing down the old lock, and we
need to make sure we have adequate funding for that. I will work with
my Senate colleagues to help ensure we continue to give the Corps the
resources they need.



[image =
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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 9] if you're in Washington on a Tuesday and come by and
see us.











*Below are some news articles from
this week I thought you might enjoy:*

* *

*WATE-ABC Knoxville
Channel 6: Sen. Alexander introduces $12B Great American Outdoors Act for
national parks maintenance [link 10]*



*The Knoxville News
Sentinel: The Restore Our Parks Act is vital to Smokies, local economy
[link 11]*



*Tennessean: Trump pledges support, aid for Tennessee
tornado victims: 'We're going to be with them all the way' [link
12]*

* *



Be specific. People are looking for answers.




*#26 in Lamar Alexander's Little Plaid Book*




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Contact Information:

Website:
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Office Location:
Washington, DC Office
455
Dirksen Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4944 | Fax:
(202) 228-3398

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