Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk

*Important news from
this week:*

-
As many as one in four Tennessee high school
students are vaping or using e-cigarettes. This is happening at a time when
thousands of Americans are getting sick, and some dying, due to
vaping related injuries. I chaired a hearing to ask government officials
what they can do to prevent these injuries and the increase in youth
use.

-
This week, Volkswagen broke ground on the new VW plant in
Chattanooga, which is part of an $800 million expansion that will create
about 1,000 new jobs for Tennesseans.

-
Farming is one of our
state's most important industries, with more than 77,000 farms across
Tennessee. This week, I congratulated the American Farm Bureau on 100
years of service.



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*This week, Governor Bill Lee
visited Washington, D.C., to discuss ways to protect and maintain quality
health care for Tennesseans.*



*Honoring our veterans and their
families*

This week, we honor the men and women in Tennessee, and
across the country, who have worn the uniform of our Armed Services.
Tennessee is proud to be the Volunteer State, and we are especially
proud to honor our nearly 500,000 veterans. We should honor them every day
for giving us the freedoms that we enjoy, the life that we live and
the country that we have. Thank you to our veterans [link 1] and their
families for their service and sacrifice to our country.




*Chairing a health committee hearing on vaping-related illness *

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I often suggest that Americans look at Washington, D.C., as if it
were a split-screen television, and this week was a good example. On
one side, you had the House of Representatives beginning public
impeachment hearings. But on the other side, you had a bipartisan group of
senators investigating a mysterious illness [link 2] tied to the use of
e-cigarettes and vaping products.

On Wednesday, I chaired a hearing
in the Senate health committee, which featured witnesses from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), to learn what federal agencies are doing about
the 2,000 Americans who have gotten sick, and the 39 who have died,
from a mysterious lung disease related to e-cigarettes. And, more
alarming, as many as 1 in 4 of our high school students are vaping, or
using e-cigarettes. This is an unacceptable situation that demands our
attention.



*Congress would save the lives of thousands of
Tennesseans by controlling all forms of Fentanyl *

Last year, more
Tennesseans died from opioid overdoses than were killed in car crashes.
Fentanyl -- a synthetic opioid that can be 50 times stronger than heroin --
was the leading cause of these opioid related deaths. The opioid
crisis is ravaging Tennessee communities, and by designating all forms of
fentanyl as Schedule I controlled substances, the bill I cosponsored
this week would save thousands of lives.

When I led a delegation of
five senators and two members of the House of Representatives to
Beijing last year, we made fentanyl and the opioid crisis the primary
point of our visit. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, almost all
the illicit fentanyl coming to the United States is produced in China.
President Trump, in an earlier meeting, spoke with the Chinese
president about this. China, working with the Trump Administration, took the
first step in May by making the selling of fentanyl subject to the
maximum penalty under Chinese law. Now it is time for Congress to do the
same and permanently classify all forms of fentanyl as Schedule I here
in the United States.



*Protecting Tennesseans' safety at
concerts and events*

Tennessee attracts thousands of people who visit
our state each year for concerts or music festivals. That's why I'm
glad to cosponsor Senator Marsha Blackburn's (R-Tenn.) legislation, the
Stadiums Operating under New Guidance Act, to help ensure these fans
are safe and their privacy is protected. Learn more here [link 3].




*Preserving African-American cemeteries*

I cosponsored Ohio
Senator Sherrod Brown's legislation to help identify and preserve
African-American cemeteries [link 4] that have been lost or almost forgotten
from our country's history. According to the National Assessment of
Educational Progress, most high school seniors in America score the worst
in U.S. history. By encouraging the study of U.S. history and
protecting and preserving sites like these, we will better remember these
important chapters in our nation's story.



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



USA Today: Don't
stop the fight against mercury pollution: Republican and Democrat to
Trump EPA [link 5]

Clarksville Online: Senate Health Committee
Questions FDA & CDC About Mysterious Lung Illness Tied to E-Cigarette
Devices, Injuring Over 2,000 Americans [link 6]

Clarksville Online:
Lamar Alexander says Ayers Foundation Has Discovered "Secret Sauce" for
Raising College Graduation Rates [link 7]

Clarksville Online: Lamar
Alexander's Veterans Day Message [link 8]

FOX 17 Nashville:
Blackburn, Alexander introduce legislation to secure stadiums during concerts,
festivals [link 9]



Be grateful for any compliment.

*#136
in Lamar Alexander's Little Plaid Book*




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