Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk

*Some good news from
this week:*

-
President Trump approved [link 1] Governor Bill
Lee's request for additional federal assistance for Tennessee's response
to the COVID-19 pandemic, which I - along with every member of the
Tennessee congressional delegation - asked [link 2] the president to do.
This disaster will continue to place a significant financial burden
on individuals, the state, and local governments, and President Trump's
quick action will help Tennessee respond to this crisis.

-
The
U.S. State Department has been sharing with me and my staff the most
up-to-date information provided by our embassies so that Tennesseans
traveling overseas who are trying to return home can be assisted. The
Department reports that over 50,000 American citizens have been brought
back from more than 100 countries around the world in the last few
weeks, but there is more work to be done. Click here [link 3] if you know
of a Tennessean who is overseas and needs help returning to the U.S.


*How can the CARES Act can help you?*

I encourage Tennesseans to
visit my website [link 4] to learn more about how you can take
advantage of the federal assistance package Congress passed [link 5] and
President Trump signed into law that will keep paychecks coming, relieve
financial burdens and help contain COVID-19.

*The "Volunteer
Spirit" is on full display*

These are trying times, but Tennesseans are
resilient. Despite all of the current anxiety, illness and economic
harm caused by COVID-19, we have seen countless examples of Tennesseans
stepping up and volunteering their time and resources to help fight
back. Here are just a few examples of how Tennesseans are supporting
their communities and the medical professionals on the front lines
fighting to contain the spread of COVID-19:

• When Baptist Memorial Health
Care in Memphis found [link 6] 30,000 N95 masks in storage that they
couldn't use because the elastic bands were old and rotten, a group of
Memphis volunteers came together and repaired the masks in one
weekend so they could be used by those who need them.

• Myron Rolle - a
former Tennessee Titans football player and current neurosurgery
resident at Mass. General and Harvard Medical School - has volunteered
[link 7] to serve in a Mass. General clinic treating patients coming in
off the street with COVID-19 symptoms.

• Many across the Tennessee
Valley are dedicating their time and their resources to contribute to
the production of facemasks. Read about some of those efforts here [link
8].

• One Middle Tennessee man has donated [link 9] 500 masks to
first responders and hopes to provide even more.

• A Clarksville
resident has set a personal goal to produce [link 10] 10,000 masks for
medical responders.

• Girl Scouts in Memphis had to put selling
cookies on hold due to the pandemic, so they decided that they would
instead donate [link 11] them to Memphis-area hospitals, the YMCA and the
Mid-South Food Bank.

• "I believe in Nashville" has donated
[link
12]over 10,000 protective face masks to protect Tennesseans.

• A
Carhartt plant in Camden is using its facility to produce [link 13]
personal protective equipment for health care workers.

• Over 100
inmates in Tennessee's Department of Corrections are creating [link 14]
suits and masks for the state's medical facilities fighting the spread
of the virus.

• Distilleries across our state have stepped up to
contribute to the containment efforts of this virus by using their
facilities to produce hand sanitizer. You can view a list of some
participating distilleries here [link 15].

• Tennessee's own Dolly Parton
has personally donated [link 16] $1 million to Vanderbilt University
Medical Center to help fight the spread of this disease.

• Food banks
across our state are working hard to give [link 17] food to those who
need it during this difficult time.

• Members of the Tennessee
National Guard have volunteered [link 18] to join the fight against
COVID-19 by assisting the COVID-19 Medical Task Force.

• A veteran and
small business owner has been traveling across Tennessee in her mobile
food truck providing [link 19] free meals to those in need.

•
Jacks of Knoxville has transformed [link 20] its business into a
distribution center for masks that will be donated and distributed to those
at-risk of coronavirus.

• FedEx, collaborating [link 21] with the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, is participating in Project Airbridge and is
transporting more than 450,000 Tyvek suits, and seven million facemasks to
help support COVID-19 relief in the U.S.

• The Tennessee Titans,
partnering with Project C.U.R.E Nashville, opened [link 22] a medical
supplies drive in Nissan Stadium. The Tennessee Titans have also donated
$50,000 to the Metro COVID-19 Response Fund.

• The Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA) has donated [link 23] 50,000 respiratory masks to help
emergency workers responding to the coronavirus pandemic. TVA is also
helping by making $1 billion in credit available to help 154 local
electric utilities keep the power on for families who may have trouble
paying their electric bills during this crisis.

• Nissan has
donated [link 24] over 20,000 face masks to Tennessee's medical
professionals fighting COVID-19.

• HCA Healthcare, partnering with Google, has
developed [link 25] a data portal that will provide health care
workers across the country with much-needed health care data related to
COVID-19.

*Protecting small businesses in Tennessee *

America's
small businesses are the backbone of our nation's economy, but too many
are struggling to stay in business as a result of the COVID-19
outbreak. The good news is that sweeping relief is on the way. The Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP) - a nearly $350 billion program - is now open
for applications.
This program can help small businesses with fewer
than 500 employees cover eight weeks of payroll costs, most mortgage
interest, rent, and utilities. The federal government has temporarily
shut down the economy because of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and the
federal government must help those who are hurt by it. The first goal of
the CARES Act - legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by
President Trump on March 27 to combat the impact of COVID-19 - was to
keep paychecks coming to American workers. The Paycheck Protection
Program aims to do just that. If an employer maintains its payroll, then
the portion of the loan used to cover payroll costs, most mortgage
interest, rent, and utilities can be forgiven for the 8 weeks after the
loan is made. Click here [link 26] for more information on how you can
take advantage of these small business loans.

*Urging U.S. Health and
Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to make COVID-19 antibodies test
free for everyone*

This week, I, along with Senator Roy Blunt from
Missouri, wrote [link 27] to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary
Alex Azar urging him to confirm that the CARES Act requires free tests
for Americans to find out if they have had COVID-19 and are likely
immune to the disease, at least in the short-term. We are dealing not
just with a medical issue here, we are dealing with an issue of
confidence. For weeks, Americans have watched 24/7 news coverage of the dangers
of COVID-19. Even if the government says you can go back to work and
back to school, many Americans may be reluctant to leave their homes.
The availability of two types of free tests--one, a diagnostic test to
determine if you have COVID-19, and two, an antibodies test to
determine whether you have had it and are likely immune, at least for the
short term--will give Americans confidence that it is safe to go back to
work and to school and restart the economy. A copy of the letter is
available here [link 28].

*Below are a few news articles I thought
you might enjoy: *

*The Tennessean: Lamar Alexander: How the new
coronavirus relief law helps Americans [link 29]*

*Tennessean:
Grandparents have to get creative to connect with grandchildren during
coronavirus [link 30]*

*WKRN: Nashville grandfather and granddaughter
have sweetest socially distant dance-off [link 31]*

*Williamson
Herald: Alexander has right answer to resolve surprise medical billing [link
32]*

*Tennessean: How to advance the common good during the
coronavirus crisis [link 33]*



"Be specific. People are looking for
answers."

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




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