Important
news from this week:
- President Trump and congressional leaders announced a two year budget
agreement that supports 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.
- 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
