MARYVILLE, Tennessee, July 10 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement on the Democratic staff report on COVID-19 diagnostic testing: "Blaming President Trump for a problem that four Presidents and several Congresses have tried to solve for twenty years does not make Americans safer. "Instead of pointing fingers, Democrats and Republicans should be working together. Already the United States is  more

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, July 8 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement on President Trump's decision to terminate the U.S. membership in the World Health Organization: "I disagree with the president's decision. Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mistakes the World Health Organization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been   more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, announced that Dr. Thom Reilly, Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) and Dr. Flora Tydings, Chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, along with college presidents from 34 states have endorsed their bipartisan Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in America Act.   more

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee, July 9 -- Rep. Timothy Burchett, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement on the announcement that the U.S. will officially withdraw from the World Health Organization: "The WHO was careless in its response to COVID-19, covering up the Chinese Communist Party's misinformation campaign for several weeks. Instead of preparing the world to fight the virus, they ignored warnings from Taiwanese officials. Economies and livelihoods around the world are still suffering becau  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, July 11 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced that Shelby County will receive $1,197,084 in Community Development Block Grant (CBDG) funding and $447,723 in HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). * * * "I'm pleased to announce this significant investment in housing and housing assistance for Shelby County. "This funding will improv  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, July 9 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced that the Shelby County Board of Education will receive a grant of $4,144,250 from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Head Start for its early childhood programs. * * * "I'm pleased to know that this funding will help young children in our community gain access to the resources they need. "Disadvantaged children need early help to prepare   more

WASHINGTON, July 7 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced that the University of Memphis will receive a grant of $1,334,467 for biomedical research from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. * * * "I'm pleased to announce this significant funding for biomedical research during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "This grant will keep scientists and lab techs on the job performing lifesaving experi  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced that the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will receive a $417,301 grant from the National Cancer Institute for research on breast cancer. * * * "This funding will help save lives while keeping our dedicated scientists and researchers in their labs making important breakthroughs. "This is an important investment in combatting this disease."  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, July 7 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced that the City of Memphis will receive a grant of $183,963 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program - Covid-19 Supplemental for purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The funding is part of the $100 million authorized for that purpose by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief   more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, July 9 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) commended Governor Bill Lee for stating that he will recommend the bust of Confederate General and slave-trader Nathan Bedford Forrest be removed from the State Capitol and placed in the Tennessee State Museum when the State Capitol Commission meets on Thursday. Congressman Cohen, a former member of the State Senate, has long opposed the bust's place of honor in the Sta  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, July 10 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement on July 9: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), who has long advocated removal of the bust of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Grand Wizard, Confederate general and slave trader Nathan Bedford Forrest from the State Capitol, commended the State Capitol Commission for its vote to petition the State Historical Commission for permission to remove the bust. The vote was 7 to 2. Congressman Cohen has written both Governor   more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, July 10 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, introduced the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Second Screening Act. The bill would permit passengers being screened at TSA checkpoints to opt for a second electronic screening, rather than an automatic physical pat-down, when they believe they have produced a false p  more

WASHINGTON, July 7 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) wrote to Governor Bill Lee urging him to take the lead on removal of the bust of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol at Wednesday's meeting of the State Capitol Commission. Last year, Congressman Cohen also urged the governor to remove the bust in previous letters in January and February and also urged former Governor Haslam to do the same. A cop  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressman David Kustoff (TN-08), joined Rep. Ted Budd and Rep. Harley Rouda in introducing The Drug-Free Communities Pandemic Relief Act. This bill will help reduce substance and opioid use among our youth by allowing the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) the authority to waive the match requirements of the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program if the grantee is unable to meet these r  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, July 10 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement after the Health and Human Services Department announced a Head Start grant of $1,347,281 to Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency, Inc.: "I'm very pleased to see Northeast Tennessee once again receive funding to help children successfully transition to school through the Head Start program. This grant will help Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency continue preparing young children   more

WASHINGTON, July 9 -- Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following joint statement on July 8 with Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, on the Supreme Court's decision upholding a Trump administration rule that undermines access to birth control for women across the country: "Today's decision potentially leaves hundreds of thousands of women without access to birth contr  more

WASHINGTON, July 9 -- Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, issued the following joint statement with Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, on the Supreme Court's decision upholding a Trump administration rule that undermines access to birth control for women across the country: "Today's decision potentially leaves hundreds of thousands of women without access to birth control. It drastically undermines the Affordable Care Act and Congress's clear intent to make birth control widely available for all who n  more

WASHINGTON, July 8 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, ranking Republican member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news release on July 7: Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, released the following statements after sending a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer requesting that H.R. 3504, as amende  more

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, July 11 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement on the Democratic staff report on COVID-19 diagnostic testing: "Blaming President Trump for a problem that four Presidents and several Congresses have tried to solve for twenty years does not make Americans safer. "Instead of pointing fingers, Democrats and Republicans should be working together. "Already the United States is testing twice as many people as any other country and is developing   more

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, July 8 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement on President Trump's decision to terminate the U.S. membership in the World Health Organization: "I disagree with the president's decision. Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mistakes the World Health Organization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been dealt with, not in the middle of it. Withdrawing U.S. membership could  more

WASHINGTON, July 2 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Senator Blackburn's Open Technology Fund (OTF) Authorization Act has been added to this year's National Defense Authorization Act as an amendment. It would authorize the OTF as an independent grantee of the US Agency for Global Media, increasing its capacity to advance internet freedom abroad. "Leading censors like China and Russia are not only employing more sophisticated means to control the lives o  more

WASHINGTON, July 8 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Senator Joni Ernst's (R-Iowa) bill to restrict taxpayer funding from going to cities that allow violent anarchist jurisdictions. The Ending Taxpayer Funding of Anarchy Act is also supported by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.). This Fourth of July weekend, gun violence a  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- The Senate Rules and Administration Committee issued the following hearing information: "2020 General Election Preparations" at 301 Russell Senate Office Building at 10:30 a.m. on July 22: Witnesses: * Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director, National Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law * Rick Stream, Republican Director of Elections, St. Louis County MO * Mac Warner, Secretary of State West Virginia * Tre Hargett, Secretary of State Tennessee  more

WASHINGTON, July 7 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) have introduced legislation to combat illegal immigration fraud and eliminate loopholes in birthright citizenship that are being exploited by foreign nationals. The Ban Birth Tourism Act will amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and ban birth tourism as a permissible basis for obtaining a temporary visitor visa. "Over the last two dec  more