Important news from
this week:
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced
additional federal funding this week for Tennessee. More than $7
million is now headed to 143 rural health clinics across Tennessee to
help expand access to COVID-19 testing in rural
communities.
- Those in East Tennessee
who were affected by the tornadoes on April 12-13: The deadline to
apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster assistance is June
23. To apply for assistance, you can click here or do so by phone: 1-800-621-3362 or TTY
800-462-7585.
- Some good
news for Tennessee's farmers—President Trump and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture announced $16 billion in relief for America's
farmers, and an additional $3 billion to purchase and distribute fresh
produce, dairy and meat to Americans in need. Click here for more
information.
- The Scarlett’s Sunshine on
Sudden Unexpected Death Act, legislation approved by the
Senate health committee I chair that will provide grants to help
states prevent sudden unexpected infant and child
deaths, and help better understand the causes of these deaths, passed in the U.S.
Senate this week.
- The U.S. Senate passed another piece of legislation approved by my
committee -- the National Institute on Minority Health and
Health Disparities Research Endowment Revitalization Act – which
helps minority-serving academic institutions, such as historically
black colleges and universities, foster research by clarifying
eligibility for the Research Endowment Program at the National Institutes of
Health.
Tennessee
university presidents are working overtime to go back to school
in August and go back safely
This week, I talked with around
90 university presidents across the state of Tennessee to discuss how
we can safely bring students back to campus in the fall. The
question is not whether we go back to school, but how can we go back to
school safely. College administrators, presidents and chancellors
will have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility over the next
few months to find a way to do this safely. I often think of our schools
and colleges as micro-cities. Well, I believe
that the wise leadership at our Tennessee institutions has enough
time to make plans to make these little cities among the safest places
to live and work during the next year. And if we are able to do that,
it would help our country move back toward normalcy from this COVID-19
crisis. The surest sign of American life regaining its rhythm will be
when 20 million students go back to college. I appreciated
hearing from our states’ education leaders, and I will continue
to work with them in the coming months to find a solution for
our nation’s students.
Introducing President Trump's nominees for the TVA board of
directors
The
nation’s largest public utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA),
is on track to add two excellent members to their board of directors.
This week, I was delighted to introduce at a Senate committee hearing President
Trump’s nominees to serve on the TVA board – Beth Harwell and
Brian Noland. They are both accomplished individuals who
understand TVA’s mission is to continue to provide cheap, clean
and reliable electricity throughout the Tennessee Valley. TVA is a
big and important institution. It serves the residents of seven
states by providing reliable electricity, and a majority of those
residents are in Tennessee. The scoreboard for TVA is in rates, and
according to TVA, their residential rates are in the cheapest 25 percent of
residential rates and their business rates are in the cheapest 10
percent of business rates in the country.
Mountain bike and hiking trails along the Foothills
Parkway coming to Cocke County
The Appalachian Regional Commission announced a $500,000
grant is headed to Cocke County to
design mountain bike and hiking trails along the Foothills Parkway.
Cocke County is one of Tennessee’s most economically distressed
counties, and these mountain bike and hiking trails will bring more of
the 12 million visitors who come to the Smokies each year to Cocke
County, which will increase tourism and economic development opportunities
in the county. For the past several years, I have been working with
Governor Lee, Senator Blackburn, the Conservation Fund, Cocke and
Sevier county officials, state representatives and officials from the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee National Forest to
develop mountain bike and hiking trails along the undeveloped section of
the Foothills Parkway in Cocke County. We heard some really good ideas
in our roundtables, and thanks to this funding from the Appalachian
Regional Commission, those ideas are going to become a reality.
#TennesseeStrong
– Tennesseans fighting back against
COVID-19
Here are some inspiring stories from this week
of Tennesseans who are showing their “Volunteer Spirit”
and supporting their communities:
- Accepting the risk posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, around 100
people volunteered to
place flags at the headstones of fallen soldiers at East Tennessee
State Veterans Cemetery.
- Memphis-based International Paper has committed to donate two million corrugated boxes
to hunger-relief organizations. These boxes are necessary to get food
to those who need it. This Memphis company also started a social media
campaign to promote this cause, which you can follow with the
hashtag #HelpFillTheBoxes
Important news from this week:
Chattanooga Times Free Press: Decisions on how to reopen schools this
fall should be up to local communities, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander
says
WKRN-ABC Nashville Channel
2: Sen. Lamar Alexander: Gov. Lee has ‘done
well’ with coronavirus response
Newport Plain Talk: County to receive grant for mountain bike and hiking
trails
WSMV-NBC Nashville Channel 4:
Leaders, politicians and local celebrities celebrate Tennessee class
of 2020
WJHL Johnson City Channel 11:
Senator Alexander: Tennessee schools ‘may have to develop a
culture of wearing masks’ next school
year
Keep in mind that enough small steps in the right direction will get you
where you want to go.
#139 in Lamar Alexander’s Little Plaid
Book
