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.
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 and their families for their service and
sacrifice to our country.
Chairing a health committee hearing
on vaping-related illness
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 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.
Preserving African-American cemeteries
I cosponsored Ohio Senator Sherrod
Brown’s legislation to help identify and preserve
African-American cemeteries 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
Clarksville
Online: Senate Health Committee Questions FDA & CDC About
Mysterious Lung Illness Tied to E-Cigarette Devices, Injuring Over 2,000
Americans
Clarksville Online: Lamar Alexander says Ayers Foundation Has
Discovered “Secret Sauce” for Raising College Graduation
Rates
Clarksville Online: Lamar Alexander’s Veterans Day
Message
FOX 17 Nashville: Blackburn, Alexander introduce legislation to secure
stadiums during concerts, festivals
Be grateful for any
compliment.
#136 in Lamar Alexander’s Little Plaid
Book
