WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report (GAO-20-531R) is entitled "Biomedical Research: HHS Has Not Yet Used New Authorities to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Scientists ". The report was sent to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, chairman, and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, Republican leader of th  more

WASHINGTON, May 9 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, ranking Republican member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news release: House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Ranking Member Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), and Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) introduced bipartisan legislation to expand the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to provide additional legal protections for servicemembers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Senate Committee on Veterans' Af  more

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Rep. Timothy Burchett, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressman Tim Burchett (TN-02) introduced the Coronavirus Public Safety and Economic Recovery Act, legislation to prepare businesses and organizations across the United States for operations as the economy reopens amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This legislation also offers liability protections to those employers that follow approved guidance on keeping employees and customers safe. "The goal i  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, May 8 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced $1,488,117 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grants to three Memphis community health centers to expand their coronavirus testing capacity. Memphis Health Center Inc. will receive $409,024; Tri-State Community Health Center will receive $136,924; and Christ Community Health Services will receive $942,169. Congressman Cohen made the following st  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, May 6 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that the Department of Justice has awarded the City of Memphis a $2,523,880 grant to address emergency needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic. The money can be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus with funding for law enforcement overtime pay; equipment; hiring; supplies such as g  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, May 8 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure's Aviation Subcommittee, commended Frontier Airlines for its decision to rescind its "More Room" social distance seat-pricing policy. In a letter to Congressmen Cohen and Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (IL-04) and Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts late Wednesday, Frontier Airlines President and CEO Barry L. Biff  more

WASHINGTON, May 9 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will receive a $410,606 research grant from the National Cancer Institute. * * * "I'm pleased that the important research St. Jude is famous for continues during this period of pandemic. "St. Jude's work leads to cures and therapies for sick children. "This funding will keep researchers working toward those goals."  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced that the Memphis Housing Authority will receive a coronavirus-related grant of $1,097,308 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. * * * "Residents of public housing and those receiving housing assistance are hurting as the pandemic continues to ravage our economy. "This funding is both timely and necessary."  more

WASHINGTON, May 9 -- Rep. Mark Green, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release on May 8: Rep. Green joined President Trump at The White House alongside other Members of Congress to discuss the United States' response to the coronavirus and solutions to reignite the economy and usher in the great American comeback. During the meeting, Green commented, "As an infantry officer, ER physician, and former business CEO, I know that when a leader is caught in an ambush, that leader needs to make  more

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- Rep. Mark Green, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy announced that Rep. Mark Green, a Member of the House Oversight Committee, has been named as one of five Republicans to serve on the Coronavirus Select Committee. Rep. Green is the only doctor appointed to serve on this Committee. Rep. Green said, "I'm honored to have been selected to represent my colleagues and the American people on this Committee. However, Congress sh  more

WASHINGTON, May 5 -- Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Rep. David Kustoff (TN-08) announced that agricultural businesses are now eligible for the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). This portal reopened as a result of funding authorized by Congress through the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act. The legislation provided additional funding for farmers and ranchers and certain other agricultural businesse  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, May 6 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement after the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the agency would award CARES Act Admin Fee Regular and Mainstream Voucher Program grants totaling $347,014 to Bristol, Elizabethton, Johnson City, Kingsport and Morristown: "At a time of tremendous economic uncertainty when many individuals are struggling financially, it is paramount that our vulnerable populations have a roof over their he  more

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, ranking Republican member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on Public Service Recognition Week: "More than ever before, it is imperative that we recognize and thank those who have dedicated their lives to public service. "Every day, hundreds of thousands of hardworking men and women commit to caring for our nation's heroes at VA - even now, when doing so comes at personal risk. "Their names may not be foun  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, May 8 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following column: I have heard it said that we get to see who people really are during difficult times. I believe this is true, and I have been encouraged over the past several weeks by the way our communities have responded to the coronavirus crisis. I have heard story after story of people helping their high-risk neighbors shop for groceries, schools working to provide meals to hungry students and communities coming tog  more

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (IL-04), both members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure's Aviation Subcommittee, and Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts, a member of the Senate Committee on Science, Commerce and Transportation, wrote to Frontier Airlines President and CEO Barry L. Biffle, asking him to reconsider charging a fee to passengers seeking to comply with healt  more

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement: "With the increasing number of diagnostic tests available, I expect attitudes to change quickly about accepting the president's offer to test members of Congress for COVID-19, especially as the House of Representatives comes back to work. From a public health point of view, this is not mostly about protecting members of Congress. "It is about protecting the people members might infect. Bringing 100 or 535   more

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement on COVID-19 testing for members of Congress: "With the increasing number of diagnostic tests available, I expect attitudes to change quickly about accepting the president's offer to test members of Congress for COVID-19, especially as the House of Representatives comes back to work. From a public health point of view, this is not mostly a  more

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement after the Education Department made final its rule clarifying Title IX, a federal law protecting students from sex discrimination in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance: "This final rule respects and supports victims and preserves due process rights for both the victim and the accused. "For example,  more

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education made final its rule clarifying Title IX -- a federal law protecting students from sex discrimination in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, so that schools will more fully understand their roles and responsibilities to better com  more

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on May 7: Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said "all roads back to work and back to school lead through testing." Alexander made his remarks during the Senate health committee hearing--"Shark Tank: New Tests for COVID-19"--which featured testimony from Dr. Francis Collins of the National Institutes of H  more

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said "all roads back to work and back to school lead through testing." Alexander made his remarks during the Senate health committee hearing--"Shark Tank: New Tests for COVID-19"--which featured testimony from Dr. Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Dr. Gary Disbrow of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Au  more

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) introduced a bill to rename the street outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. "Li Wenliang Plaza." The bill honors the late Dr. Li Wenliang, the Wuhan-based doctor who warned the world about the coronavirus before the Chinese Communist Party silenced him. Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wy  more

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: Senators Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), and Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) introduced companion bills to rename the street outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. "Li Wenliang Plaza." The bill honors the late Dr. Li Wenliang, the Wuhan-based doctor who warned the world about the coronavirus before the Chinese Communist Part  more