Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk

*Important news from
this week:*

-
President Trump and congressional leaders
announced a two year budget agreement that would support our national defense,
national laboratories, national parks and biomedical research.

-

The U.S. Senate voted to permanently reauthorize the 9/11 Victim
Compensation Fund, which provides compensation to September 11th first
responders and survivors suffering from related health conditions.

-

I sat down with former Tennessee Senator Bill Frist to talk about my
legislation to lower the cost of what Tennesseans pay out of their own
pockets for health care. You can listen to our conversation here
[link 1].

-
The Tennessee House Republican Caucus elected Cameron
Sexton of Crossville as their nominee for speaker. I know he will be a
great leader for Tennessee.



*Supporting a budget deal that
strengthens our military and funds important programs for
Tennessee*

This week, I urged my Senate colleagues to support the two year budget
deal announced by President Trump and congressional leadership. What
this new two year agreement does is important. First, it suspends the
debt limit - the amount that the United States can borrow - in order to
avoid a global financial crisis. Second, it raises the defense and
non-defense discretionary budget caps--or the amount of money that the
appropriations committee can spend on our national defense, our veterans,
national laboratories, biomedical research at the National Institutes
of Health, and national parks. There has been a lot of chest beating
about how this budget agreement adds to the deficit, and it is
appropriate to be concerned about the deficit. But, what's inappropriate is
blaming our $22 trillion national debt on funding for our defense,
national parks and national laboratories. The problem is mandatory
spending on entitlements, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
We should consider a plan like the Fiscal Sustainability Act, which
Senator Corker and I introduced, to reduce the growth of entitlement
spending by nearly $1 trillion over 10 years.



*Supporting 9/11
first responders*

I voted this week to approve the 9/11 Victim
Compensation Fund, which provides compensation to September 11th first
responders and survivors suffering from related health conditions. We owe a
debt of gratitude to these American heroes, and I look forward to
President Trump signing this critical legislation into law.






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It was good to meet with Sarah, Caroline, Amrit and
Trevor, this year's American Legion Boys and Girls Nation delegates
from Tennessee. They are impressive young adults, and I am glad they
have the opportunity to learn more about how our government
functions.







*Confirming Army Secretary Mark Esper to serve as
Secretary of Defense*

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This week, the U.S. Senate voted to
confirm the Secretary of the Army, Mark Esper, as Secretary of Defense.
Secretary Esper - who is a West Point graduate, combat veteran, and
dedicated public servant - is the right person to lead the Department of
Defense during such a critical time in our nation. He also has close ties
to Tennessee, having worked for both Senator Fred Thompson and
Majority Leader Bill Frist on national security policy, and having served
with the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm. I was
glad to support his confirmation.



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I enjoyed
being on Tennessee radio this week to talk about my plan to lower
health care costs for Tennessee families and make college worth Tennessee
students' time and money.







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Another great Tennessee Tuesday this week with Senator Blackburn. A
special thank you and happy ninth birthday to Emily, who was celebrating her
birthday in our nation's capital.











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

*National Review: Op-Ed by Lamar Alexander: End Surprise Medical Billing
[link 2]*

*Chattanooga Times Free Press: Sen. Lamar Alexander's
bipartisan legislation promises to eliminate surprise billing, lower health
care costs [link 3]*



Serve in Washington, D.C, long enough to
get vaccinated but not infected.

*#248in Lamar Alexander's Little
Plaid Book*




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