WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that "instead of remaining stuck in a perpetual partisan argument over Obamacare and health insurance, senators are working across party lines to lower the costs of what Americans pay for health care out of their own pockets." "The question I hear most often is, 'How can I reduce what Americans pay for health care out of their o  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- The office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today introduced bipartisan legislation that advocates for the release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Burma. Despite a campaign pledge that the National League for Democracy (NLD) "would not arrest anyone as political prisoners," it has failed to fulfill this promise since its historic electoral vi  more

WASHINGTON, July 3 -- The office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Today, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Senator David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) to encourage Trump Administration officials to reach consensus with congressional leaders on a two-year budget deal to fully fund the military. In a letter to Acting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought, Acting White House Chi  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * - States would use federal highway money to fund local "Complete Streets" projects * * * Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Congressmen Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) today introduced the Complete Streets Act, legislation that would promote safer and more accessible transportation routes across the United States. A "complete street" is one  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * - SEAT Act, requiring a study of airline seat safety, passed nine months ago * * * Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, today wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Daniel K. Elwell expressing concern that the agency has not begun implementing the Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act. Cong  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * - Also seeks documents regarding child separation policy and conditions on southwest border * * * Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, today voted to authorize two sets of subpoenas. The first seeks documents regarding the Trump administration child separation policy and conditions on our southwestern border. The second set are subpoenas for President T  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * - Permits veterans to avoid "means test" when filing for bankruptcy * * * Today, the House Judiciary Committee voted to advance Congressman Steve Cohen's (TN-09) bill to ensure that certain members of the National Guard and Reserves can obtain bankruptcy relief without filing substantial paperwork required by the "means test" under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. With the Committee's vote today,   more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- The House Oversight and Reform Committee issued the following testimony by ex-Tennessee Deputy Governor James Henry at a hearing entitled "Identifying, Preventing, and Treating Childhood Trauma: A Pervasive Public Health Issue that Needs Greater Federal Attention": "We appreciate the interest of the Committee in childhood trauma and approaches to prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences. It is an honor to be asked to talk briefly about activities in the State of  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * - Funding for Memphis International master plan, de-icing pad * * * Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced today that Memphis International Airport will be receiving $5,475,065 to update its master plan and $10,010,572 to construct a de-icing pad and related facilities from the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program. The grants were part of $477 million in infrastructure   more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement regarding the release of Memphis Noticias journalist Manuel Duran from immigration detention: "I was troubled by the way Manuel Duran was taken into custody while covering a legitimate public protest. "He was a well-known journalist and I hope he wasn't targeted for that reason. "I opposed his detention and have been calling for his release. I want to commend Mr. Duran's superb attorney, Christy Swatzell, and  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * - Mishandling of Epstein's case involving sex trafficking of underage girls at issue * * * Congressman Steve Cohen, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, today joined 67 House Members in asking President Trump to demand the resignation of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta. Acosta was the U.S. Attorney for South Florida when he secretly arranged an extremely lenient plea agreement for bil  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * - Discusses "collateral consequences" of a record for conviction and removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act * * * Congressman Steve Cohen, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and a member of its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, today questioned expert witnesses on marijuana policy at a hearing on "Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the N  more

WASHINGTON, July 12 -- Rep. Mark Green, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Rep. Mark Green announced support for the Senate-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) that received 86 bipartisan votes as he voted NO on the House version of the NDAA. "Democrat leadership talks like they're tough on Russia, but their actions tell another story. Russia is building up its nuclear forces and is in possession of up to 2,000 nuclear warheads. But  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Mark Green, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) introduced a piece of legislation today that would replace the Presidential Election Campaign Fund checkbox on the IRS 1040 with a Border Wall Trust Fund checkbox to allow taxpayers to designate their tax money toward building a southern border wall. "Taxpayer dollars should never be used to advance political campaigns. But, keeping Americans safe must be our #1 priority," said Rep. M  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, ranking Republican member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following statement at markup of veterans bill amendments: "I am dismayed and deeply disappointed over what happened at today's markup - something I have not witnessed during my ten-year tenure on the Committee. Two amendments offered in good faith to address serious issues affecting our nation's veterans were derailed using heavy-handed parliamentary procedures unh  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement after the House passage of the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act (H.R. 1044) by a vote of 365-65: "Our country's immigration system is broken in many ways, beyond the critical need for border security and a barrier on our southern border. "One flaw is that we impose arbitrary limits on the number of immigrants we can accept from an individual country in any given year. We need a merit-based system that pr  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following column: Immediately before Congress adjourned for Independence Day, the House finally passed the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act. It fulfilled the President's request for much-needed, long-overdue humanitarian aid and funding to agencies securing our border in order to address the overcrowding. This funding could not be more critical. In total, the   more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Rep. John Rose, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Tuesday, Congressman John Rose's bill supporting rural small businesses secured final passage in the House with an overwhelming 413 votes in support. The legislation allows entrepreneurs in rural communities to receive the same capital formation technical assistance available to many other small businesses across the state and nation. "I have met folks in every county of the Sixth District who operate and wo  more

WASHINGTON, July 9 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * - Bipartisan bill would protect concerts and other events with temporary flight restrictions * * * Congressmen Steve Cohen, Jim Cooper, Tim Burchett, John Rose and David Kustoff of Tennessee today introduced the bipartisan Stadiums Operating under New Guidance (SONG) Act which would give the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the authority to issue Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) for concert  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following floor statement on drug pricing: "The question I hear most often is how can I reduce what Americans pay for health care out of their own pockets? "And the most obvious out-of-pocket cost for most Americans is what we pay for prescription drugs. Shirley, from Franklin, Tennessee, is one of those Americans. She wrote me recently saying: ""As a 71 year old senior with arthritis, I rely on Enbrel to keep my symptoms   more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, issued the following statement after voting to confirm Robert King to serve as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education at the Department of Education: "Mr. King is well-prepared to oversee the higher education programs at the Department of Education, having effectively served in leadership roles at institutions of higher education and having overseen postsecondary programs at the state leve  more

WASHINGTON, July 11 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, issued the following statement after voting to confirm John Pallasch to serve as Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training at the Department of Labor: "The number one issue I hear most about from businesses in Tennessee is the need for more skilled workers. "Mr. Pallasch will use his prior experience as the Executive Director of Kentucky's Office of Employment and Training to help ensure ou  more

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release: * * * - Says senators are working across party lines to lower the costs of what Americans pay for health care out of their own pocket * * * U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that "instead of remaining stuck in a perpetual partisan argument over Obamacare and health insurance, senators are   more

WASHINGTON, July 1 -- The office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following floor remarks about protecting freedom ahead of Independence Day: "In 1826, a very old and feeble John Adams received a group of Quincy, Massachusetts town leaders who were seeking his help in planning an anniversary celebration of the Declaration of Independence. They wanted Adams to pen a toast to be read at the event. Imagine their surprise when Adams left them with just two words: ""Independence fo  more

WASHINGTON, July 9 -- The office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Protecting Innocence in a Digital World" about the dangers posed by social media to children: "[Jeffrey Epstein's] case serves as a warning that predators really do lurk. "They lurk in every corner of society, whether it's the rich and the powerful or the poor and depraved. Those protections that have existed in the physical world, many tim  more

WASHINGTON, July 8 -- The office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Today, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) urged the CEO of Snap, Evan Spiegel, to take action to protect children from sexual predators and being exposed to explicit adult content while using Snapchat. "In 2019, our children are living an unprecedented amount of their young lives online," said Senator Blackburn. "Snap must be transparent with users about the steps they take to ensure the  more