Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk

*Important news from
this week: *

-
It's important to remind ourselves of the
difficulty we have as a country in dealing with racial discrimination. We've
made so much progress over the years, but obviously we have a long way
to go. I think of my friend, South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott,
who is African American and who told me that he was stopped by police
several times even when he was on the Charleston County Council for
"being a black man in the wrong place." We must redouble our efforts to
change such attitudes and end racial discrimination.



-
This
week, I chaired [link 1] a hearing in the Senate education committee
with college administrators to explore how schools can safely reopen in
the fall. The question isn't whether or not students will return in
the fall, but how to create an environment where they can do so
safely.

-
Tennesseans in the Chattanooga area affected by the tornadoes
on April 12-13: The deadline to apply for disaster assistance is soon -
June 23. To apply for assistance, you can click here [link 2] or call
1-800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585.

-
Next week, the U.S. Senate
will be casting the most important vote on outdoors conservation
legislation that we've had in 50 years. This bill, the Great American
Outdoors Act, will fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund
permanently - something Congress has been trying to do since 1964. The
legislation also includes the Restore Our Parks Act [link 3] - legislation I
introduced that would cut in half the maintenance backlog at our
national parks and help restore our 419 national parks, including the
Smokies, so Americans can enjoy them.

*Remembering the legendary
University of Tennessee player and coach, Johnny Majors*

As a teenager, I
rode the White Star Lines bus from Maryville to Knoxville and sold
all my U.T. programs before the game started so I could watch every
Johnny Majors run and pass and punt and quick kick. When he played the
game, he WAS Tennessee football, and the Majors family became the First
Family of Tennessee football. I got to know Johnny well when he was
coach of the Volunteers, and I was university president. That friendship
continued for many years. Honey and I send our sympathy and our great
respect for Johnny's life to Mary Lynn and to the entire Majors
family.

*Ensuring Tennessee colleges and universities return in the fall,
and do so safely*

[image =
[link removed]] [link 4]

I spoke about my hearing and
the need for colleges and universities to return safely this fall on
the Senate floor. You can click here [link 5] or on the above image for
video.

This week, I chaired [link 6] a hearing in the Senate
education committee with college administrators not about whether colleges
and universities should open in the fall, but on how they can open and
do so safely.
Dr. Logan Hampton, president of Lane College in
Jackson, was one of our witnesses, and I enjoyed hearing his perspective.
President Trump and Congress should not be telling the University of
Memphis that it must open its classes in person, or telling Vanderbilt
University it cannot--or telling U.T. Knoxville that it must test
everyone on the campus or telling Tennessee State University that it cannot.
Colleges themselves, not Washington D.C., should make those
decisions. I was recently on a phone call with about 90 presidents of
Tennessee's 127 institutions of higher education, almost all of them are
planning to resume in-person classes in the fall, and the one thing that was
made clear was this: all roads back to college lead through testing.
The availability of widespread testing will allow colleges to track
and isolate students who have the virus or have been exposed to it, so
the rest of the student body doesn't have to be quarantined.

Many
American colleges--overall considered the best in the world--will be
permanently damaged or even have to close if they continue to be, as a
witness at my hearing said, "ghost towns." And we know that a single
lost year of college can lead to a student not graduating from college
and set back career goals. Two thirds of college students want to return
to campus, according to an Axios survey. At Purdue University,
tuition deposits by incoming freshmen broke last year's record.
Colleges
and universities are micro cities. College presidents and administrators
can make them among the safest small communities in which to live and
work during this next year. In doing so, they will help our country
take its surest step toward normalcy. As chairman of the Senate
education committee, I will continue to work to ensure the federal government
is giving institutions of higher education across our country the
tools they need to reopen safely in the fall.

*Help is on the way to
more than 85,000 Tennessee small businesses and their employees*

The
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was included in the CARES
Act [link 7] I supported, is a federal relief program that provides
sweeping relief to keep paychecks coming for workers across the country.
This week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed [link 8] the Paycheck
Protection Program Flexibility Act - legislation that provides the PPP
additional flexibility for the more than 85,000 Tennessee small
businesses who have received forgivable loans through the program.
As of May
30, the Small Business Administration had approved more than $8.8
billion in loans for Tennessee businesses. Currently, businesses only have
eight weeks to spend the money, which many business owners in
Tennessee have said is not long enough to bridge the economic gap created by
the COVID-19 outbreak. Giving businesses 24 weeks to use the loans
better reflects the real world challenges facing small businesses and
should help Tennessee small businesses retain more
workers.

*Preserving our national parks for future generations*

[image =
[link removed]] [link 9]

Click
here [link 10] or on the above image to hear my thoughts on this
significant piece of legislation.

During this next week, the United
States Senate will take up and hopefully pass a piece of legislation I've
been working on for several years, which will be the most important
piece of conservation legislation in the last half century. It's called
the Great American Outdoors Act, and what it does is takes care of
deferred maintenance on our federal lands, including our national parks.
For example, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there is $224
million of deferred maintenance. That means roads that have potholes,
or trails that are worn out, or sewage systems that don't work and
close down whole campgrounds, or visitor centers that have become
dilapidated. That's true all across our country in 419 different national
park sites. This legislation will take care of one half of all of that
deferred maintenance at our national parks over the next five years. It
has the support of President Trump, 59 United States Senators, and
over 800 conservation and sportsmen's groups. And it is my hope that the
Senate passes it this month, and it becomes law this
year.

*Vaccines save lives*

One of the many disruptions the COVID-19 crisis has
caused is to routine health care visits and childhood immunizations.
This pandemic has proven with more clarity than ever that vaccines save
lives, as we respond to a disease for which we do not have one.
Because of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
and pediatricians are reporting that millions of children aren't getting
routine vaccinations for preventable diseases like measles and
whooping cough. The Tennessee Department of Health says vaccinations in
Tennessee in April 2020 are down almost 40 percent compared to April of
2019. That needs to change. As states are opening back up, doctors,
nurses, and state and local public health departments are working to catch
children back up on routine immunizations. Parents should consult
with their child's doctor and get back on track with the appropriate
vaccines for their child so they are not vulnerable to diseases like
measles.
As we look to the flu season this fall, it will also be important
for as many people as possible to get the flu shot. CDC this week
announced, due to the CARES Act, it is providing $2.4 million to
Tennessee and $140 million nationwide to help states provide flu vaccines to
children and adults. This is welcome news because vaccines save
lives.

*Lowering out of pocket insulin costs for Medicare's
seniors*

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last week
that certain Medicare plans will be offering lower insulin costs for
the 2021 plan year. This announcement means that next year the
out-of-pocket cost of a month's supply of insulin could drop from hundreds of
dollars a month to $35 a month for many Americans on Medicare. For
seniors with diabetes, this will be a huge step in lowering health care
costs.

*Important news from this week:*

Knoxville News Sentinel:
Help coming: Bill for Smokies maintenance backlog on track [link
11]

Chattanooga Times Free Press: Help Senator Alexander make this the
time to fix our parks [link 12]

WATE-ABC Knoxville Channel 6: Sen.
Lamar Alexander gives remarks on Great American Outdoors legislation
[link 13]

WREG Memphis News Channel 3: Senators press colleges on
coronavirus safety plans to reopen campuses [link 14]

The Tennessean:
Legendary Tennessee football player, coach Johnny Majors dies [link
15]



Read Alex Haley's *Roots*

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




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