Tennessee’s senior senator Lamar Alexander visited the Chattanooga Times Free Press for a conversation with the newspaper’s editorial board. Senator Alexander discussed such topics as solar power and overtime pay issues. U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., is touting the 21st Century Cures bill, which the Senate and House have now passed and President Barack Obama is expected to sign, as “the most important bill of the year.”
The sprawling 996-page legislation is the most significant health care law passed by Congress since Obamacare, and it won bipartisan backing, passing the U.S. House last week by a vote of 344-77 and winning Senate approval on Wednesday, 94-5. As chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Tennessee’s senior U.S. senator has been a key architect of the bill.
Vice President Joe Biden speaks about sound financial sector regulation at Georgetown University in Washington, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) The $6.3 billion legislation includes $1 billion to fight opioid abuse and $1.8 billion for Vice President Joe Biden’s “cancer moonshot” initiative; changes the way the federal Food and Drug Administration approves drugs and medical devices; and pushes hospitals and doctors to make it easy to share data on their patients electronically.
Senator Bob Corker speaks during the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016.Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., praised the Senate’s vote Wednesday and applauded Alexander.
“Passage of this legislation is a testament to Sen. Alexander’s leadership and will help countless Tennesseans who are directly impacted by cancer, Alzheimer’s, mental illness and opioid abuse,” Corker said. “By streamlining the FDA review process and advancing biomedical research, this bill will encourage innovation and provide quicker access to the lifesaving medications and treatments that so many families need.”