Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk

*Important news from
this week:*

-
One of the most beautiful bridges in America, on
one of the most beautiful drives in America, was named this week after
Dean Stone - a good friend of mine and of the Great Smoky Mountains.
The Dean Stone Bridge is located on the Foothills Parkway in the
Smokies.

-
I introduced legislation that will make it easier for
Tennessee students to attend college. This proposal includes legislation
that simplifies the dreaded FAFSA - the student aid form that Governor
Bill Haslam called "the single largest impediment to more students
participating in Tennessee Promise."

-
The United States Senate
confirmed President Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Labor, Eugene
Scalia.



*The whole world sings with Tennessee*

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1]

*Click here
[link 2]or on the above image to listen to my
remarks.*

I spoke on the Senate floor about Ken Burns' new film series,
"Country Music," which concludes this week on PBS. The first two hours of
'Country Music' were about the recordings of hillbilly music in 1927 at
the birthplace of country music in Bristol, where the
Tennessee-Virginia state line runs down the middle of Main Street. The rest of the
episodes wind through a community called Boogertown in the Smoky
Mountains, where Dolly Parton was born, to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, to
Beale Street in Memphis. As a senator from Tennessee, I must confess
my bias, but Burns' new documentary shows that the whole world sings
with Tennessee. If you haven't already, consider watching these great
films and learn more about Tennessee's country music history.






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I was at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville not long ago
and heard Will Duvall play a song he wrote called, "The King of Country
Music." It was good to have him in Washington this week where I got
to hear him play that song again, and talk about the Music
Modernization Act [link 3] - bipartisan legislation I introduced and President
Trump signed into law to ensure songwriters are paid fairly.




*Visitors to the Foothills Parkway will know Dean Stone's
legacy*

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If you want to see the best view of the highest mountains in the
eastern United States, you'll drive the Foothills Parkway. The scene is so
magnificent that it surprises even those of us who have grown up
admiring the Smokies. This parkway is also home to one of the most
beautiful bridges in America, and, this week, it was named after a good
friend of mine and of the Great Smoky Mountains - Dean Stone. For those who
don't know Dean, he was the long time editor of *The Daily Times* in
Maryville, and a lifetime advocate for the Great Smoky Mountains. Dean
did as much as anybody to make the Foothills Parkway happen. He
enthusiastically celebrated the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and was
the best historian of what I like to call the "Oak Ridge Corridor"
that we ever knew. As East Tennesseans know, we all love stories about
ourselves, and Dean could tell them. It is now my hope that the naming
of this bridge will tell the story of Dean Stone.





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It was good to visit with some folks from
Nissan this week. The auto industry has done more for our state the last
forty years than anything else and has been the number one driver of
higher family incomes.









*Introducing legislation
to make it easier for Tennesseans to attend college*

This week, I
introduced a long-term solution to permanently provide funding for
Minority Serving Institutions, including the six Historically Black
Colleges and Universities in Tennessee. This solution is part of a package
of eight bipartisan higher education bills drafted by 35 senators - 20
Democrat, 15 Republican. This package of bills will make it easier for
millions of students to get a college education by simplifying the
Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) - which according to former
governor, Bill Haslam, is "the single biggest impediment to more
students enrolling in Tennessee Promise." It would also provide Pell grants
to parole-eligible prisoners, allow Pell grants to be used for
short-term programs and increase the maximum Pell grant award.




*Confirming Eugene Scalia to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor*

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This week, the Senate labor committee I chair approved the nomination of
Eugene Scalia, President Trump's nominee to serve as Secretary of
Labor. And Thursday, his nomination was confirmed by the full Senate. Mr.
Scalia has the skills to help continue to grow our economy and help
workers gain the skills they need to succeed in today's workplace. I am
glad we have a well-qualified Secretary of Labor, so we can continue
to create a strong economy for Tennesseans.



*Read below about
three of the five funding bills approved this week by the U.S. Senate
Appropriations Committee, on which I serve, and the impact they will
have on Tennessee:*



*Approving legislation that funds the border
wall the right way*

I support the president on border security,
and I commend him for pursuing funding for the border wall in the right
way - by asking the Congress for funding, allowing Congress to
consider his request, and working with Congress to achieve a result. Congress
has approved, for the last four presidents - Obama, Clinton, W. Bush
and H.W. Bush - on a bipartisan basis, 654 miles of physical barrier -
that's wall - along our almost 2,000 mile southern border. The bill
approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee this week continues the
work to secure our border by including $5 billion for the border wall
system. When a president, elected by the people of the United States,
has a legitimate objective, we in Congress should bend over backwards
to try to meet that objective if we want a result, regardless of
whatever you may think of him or her. This bill is now ready to be
considered by the full United States Senate.



*Approving more money to
reduce the maintenance backlog at the Great Smoky Mountain**s
**National Park*

The Senate Appropriations Committee took a promising step
to reduce the maintenance backlog at our national parks, including at
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The funding approved this
week will help restore the campgrounds, trails,and roads in what Ken
Burns calls "America's best idea" - our national park system. The next
step is to pass the Restore Our Parks Act [link 4], bipartisan
legislation I introduced that would be the biggest help to our parks in a
generation.

Also included in this bill is money to help Tennessee
protect its waterways from invasive Asian carp. Asian carp are aggressively
invading Tennessee waterways and threaten biodiversity, the
economy,and sporting from Memphis to Chattanooga. While the Tennessee Wildlife
Resources Agency is working to combat Asian carp in the
Tennessee-Cumberland Sub-basin, additional federal resources are needed. I was glad
to support the $25 million in funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to combat this issue and protect commercial fishing and our
nation's waters.



*Approving funding to help Tennessee fight the
opioid crisis*

The Senate Appropriations Committee also approved a
funding bill that provides $505 million for U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) grants to help states, including Tennessee, tackle the opioid
crisis. States could use these grants to help fund their drug courts,
educational efforts, law enforcement programs, recovery programs, and
treatment programs. Our law enforcement officers witness almost daily the
tragedy associated with the opioid crisis, which effects virtually
every American community. This funding will help give them the support
they need to keep our communities safe.

I was also glad to see that
the $12 million I requested to fund meth lab cleanup was included in
this bill. This will allow DOJ to continue to assist states in the very
difficult and often dangerous efforts to clean up meth labs.
According to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, between 2002 and 2012,
Tennessee law enforcement agencies discovered more than 16,000 meth
labs.
While lab seizures are down, meth abuse continues to be a serious and
deadly problem across Tennessee.



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It was good
meeting with Tennesseans this Tuesday with my colleague and friend
Senator Blackburn! If you'll be in Washington on a Tuesday while the
Senate is in session, we would love for you to attend Tennessee Tuesday.
Sign up here [link 5].







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

Sen. Lamar Alexander:
Congress is trying to protect patients from surprise medical bills [link
6]

The Wilson Post: Column by Senator Lamar Alexander: Legislation gets
money to deserving songwriters [link 7]

Maryville Daily Times: Ode
to an advocate; Dean Stone Bridge dedicated on Foothills Parkway
[link 8]



Focus on what comes next instead of what went
wrong.

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




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