Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk
*Important news from
this week: *
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My thoughts and prayers continue to be with all
of those throughout East Tennessee and the Chattanooga-area who were
impacted by severe storms this week. The Tennessee Emergency Management
Agency and local first responders have been working to clear debris,
restore power, and provide assistance. Tennesseans are resilient, and
we will all work together to help our communities rebuild and
recover.
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Governor Bill Lee announced Tennesseans can now be tested for
COVID-19, regardless of traditional symptoms. To learn more and find a
testing site near you, visit the governor's website [link 1].
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According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), over 34,000
Tennessee small businesses have been approved [link 2] for more than $6.5
billion from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created by the
CARES Act [link 3]. On Thursday, April 16, this new program ran out of
money.
I support legislation to provide an additional $250 billion for
this program, and I am hopeful that an agreement can be reached next
week with Senate Democrats to pass this legislation so we can continue
to help small businesses keep paychecks coming to hundreds of thousands
of workers across the country.
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The U.S. Department of
Education announced that 127 colleges and universities across our state would
receive $237 million to help students impacted by COVID-19.
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The
U.S. Department of Transportation announced that 69 airports across
our state will receive a combined $124 million--made available by the
CARES Act [link 4]--to help them continue operations.
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Governor
Bill Lee extended the statewide safer at home order through April 30.
*How can the CARES Act can help you?*
I encourage Tennesseans to
visit my website [link 5] to learn more about how you can take
advantage of the federal assistance Congress passed [link 6] 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*
Last week, I highlighted 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.
Here
are some more stories to show how we are all #TennesseeStrong:
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The CEO of Uncle Nearest Whiskey, in Fayetteville, Tennessee, purchased
[link 7] over $40,000 worth of N95 masks with the intention of
donating them to frontline workers.
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Medical students across our state
are stepping up and volunteering to help their communities and health
professionals respond to and recover from the COVID-19 outbreak. Read
some of these stories here [link 8].
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Despite having her home
destroyed by the tornado in March, a Nashville nurse volunteered [link
9] her time to serve at the Nissan Stadium testing center.
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After seeing a customer struggle to pay his $173 bill, a 17-year-old
grocery store cashier in Georgetown, Tennessee, volunteered [link 10] to
cover the tab herself.
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Peyton and Ashley Manning, working with
The Loveless Cafe in Nashville, donated [link 11] 600 meals to health
care workers at TriStar Summit Medical Center.
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A business owner
in Jackson is using her [link 12] sewing shop to make face masks, and
she has already made over 300 masks.
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Dollywood donated [link
13] 850 masks to the East Tennessee Children's Hospital and 200 ponchos
to local fire fighters and EMTs.
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Pellissippi State Community
College and University of Tennessee students are using [link 14] their
schools' 3D printers to help make much-needed personal protection
equipment and medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
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A
local resident of Karns, Tennessee, started making fabric masks, and
now she has the help of about 250 volunteers that produce [link 15] face
masks to protect people from COVID-19.
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The Tennessee Valley
Authority established the COVID-19 Community Cares Fund to provide
[link 16] $2 million to support non-profits helping families and
businesses affected by the global pandemic.
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Ms. Cheap Pop-Up Penny
Drive [link 17] is helping raise funds for the Second Harvest Food Bank of
Middle Tennessee, which is especially important at this time with the
increased demand at food banks as a result of the March tornadoes and
COVID-19 outbreak.
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FedEx Logistics donated [link 18] 3,000
face shields to six Memphis area hospitals.
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The Nashville
Predators raised [link 19] over $2.7 million to help Tennesseans impacted by
the March 3 tornadoes and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Radians, a
respirator mask manufacturer, donated [link 20] more than 14,000 N95
masks to Memphis and Shelby County to help medical first responders and
medical professionals stay safe as they fight COVID-19.
-
Resolute
Forest Products' plant in Calhoun, Tennessee, is taking innovative
steps [link 21] to increase the production of toilet paper in response
to shortages caused by COVID-19.
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The Marathon gas station in
Frayser, Tennessee, in partnership with the Pursuit of God Church, gave
away [link 22] $10 in free gas to customers for four hours on
Wednesday.
*Serving on President Trump's Economic Recovery Initiative
*
This week, President Trump appointed [link 23] me to serve on his
Economic Recovery Initiative. The way to contain this disease and get back
to work and back to school is to put politics aside and work together
as fast as we can on new tests, new treatments and new vaccines.
Everyone I know wants this to happen as quickly as we responsibly can, and
I welcome the opportunity to help in this way.
*Emphasizing the
need for widespread COVID-19 testing *
Without more tests with quick
results, it will be difficult to contain this disease and give
Americans confidence to go back to work and back to school. In the last
month, Congress has given federal agencies up to $38 billion to develop
tests, treatments, and vaccines. Nothing is more important than finding a
new diagnostic technology that will make it possible to test tens of
millions of Americans, something our country has never tried to do
before. We should start by using the money Congress has already provided,
put politics aside, and work together on more tests with quick
results. It is also important that these tests be free for all who take
them. I along with my colleague, Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, wrote
[link 24] to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar urging him to
make clear that the new law passed by Congress [link 25] allows free
tests for Americans who have had COVID-19 and are likely immune to the
disease, which the Department has confirmed.
*Some good news for
Tennessee students *
Last week, the federal government announced 127
colleges and universities across our state would receive $237 million
to help students impacted by COVID-19. The amount of funding for each
school has been announced so Tennessee students can get help from their
school for COVID-19-related expenses. For the full list, click here
[link 26].
*Celebrating National Park Week *
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*Below are a few news articles I thought you might want to read:
*
*Chattanooga Times Free Press: Tennessee higher ed institutions to see
$237 million in student-related federal COVID-19 aid [link
28]*
*Tennessean: Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Lamar Alexander named
to Trump's recovery task force [link 29]*
*WRCB-NBC Channel 3:
Officials provide updates on Hamilton County storm damage [link
30]*
*Chattanooga Times Free Press: Lawmakers push for COVID-19 antibody
tests to restart economy as health experts caution limitations [link
31]*
Keep in mind that enough small steps in the right direction
will still get you where you want to go.
*#139 in Lamar Alexander's
Little Plaid Book*
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Contact Information:
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