Alexander’s “landmark” opioids legislation becomes law – President Trump calls Alexander bill “the single largest bill to combat a drug crisis in the history of our country”
10 key provisions in the legislation:
- STOP Act—to stop illegal drugs, including fentanyl, at the border
- New non-addictive painkillers, research and fast-track
- Blister packs for opioids, such as a 3 or 7 day supply
- Extends support for Medicaid patients seeking treatment from 15 to 30 days, covering all substance use disorders
- TREAT Act—permanently allows more medical professionals to treat people in recovery to prevent relapse and overdoses
- Prevent “doctor-shopping” by improving state prescription drug monitoring programs
- More behavioral and mental health providers
- Support for comprehensive opioid recovery centers
- Help for babies born in opioid withdrawal and for mothers with opioid use disorders
- More early intervention with vulnerable children who have experienced trauma
Music Modernization Act becomes law – President Trump says about bill to ensure songwriters are paid fair market value that songwriters are “not going to be treated unfairly anymore” – Tennessean reports that National Music Publishers Association President and CEO David Israelite said “Senator Lamar Alexander is one of the key architects of this legislation and it is going to become law because of his extraordinary leadership and commitment to songwriters.”
4th year of record funding for national laboratories, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Alexander chairs the subcommittee responsible for funding Chickamauga Lock in Chattanooga, our 17 national laboratories, the Y-12 National Security Complex, and Office of Science
Banning cell phone calls on commercial airplanes – Alexander proposal becomes law, Washington Post says of the proposal that “legislators have given Americans what they want: a little bit of solace, just this once”
Reauthorizing Perkins Career and Technical Education Act -- Alexander, as chairman of the Senate education committee, championed the bill and worked with Ivanka Trump to pass it into law, marking “a watershed moment” for the Trump administration on education policy according to Education Week
84 judges, including 4 Tennessee judges – Alexander has voted to confirm every one of President Trump’s judicial nominees, who now make up one in every six appeals judges
Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act – Alexander, as chairman of the Senate health committee, worked to pass legislation banning the “gag” clauses that prevented pharmacists from telling patients a prescription may be cheaper if they paid with cash instead of their insurance – President Trump says new law will “completely end these unjust gag clauses once and for all”
Restore Our Parks Act through committee – This Alexander-led legislation will cut in half the nearly $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog in our national parks, has the support of over 100 groups and addresses what Interior Secretary Zinke calls not “a Republican issue or a Democrat issue—it’s an American issue”
25 HELP hearings – As Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Alexander has led a number of hearings on issues important to Tennesseans including drug pricing, the cost of health care, reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, and apprenticeships
