The Blackburn Report: President Trump Signs Government Funding Package into Law with Big Wins for Tennessee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqtA5r3Rwts

This week, President Trump signed a government funding package into law that funds the U.S. Departments of War, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Education, and other federal agencies. This appropriations package will provide a pay raise for American troops, invest in the next generation, accelerate critical research and development projects, and strengthen communities in Tennessee and across America. In addition to moving federal agencies off of a bloated Biden-era budget and onto a Trump budget, this package includes my bills to lower the cost of prescription drugs, ensure Americans with disabilities aren’t forced to retire to keep their Medicaid coverage, and empower Tennesseans to choose the health care that works for them. The package also includes critical funding for Vanderbilt University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Memphis. Read more here.

Weekly Rundown

Thousands of homes and businesses in Nashville are still without power in the wake of Winter Storm Fern. I spoke on the Senate floor about the many residents who have had to leave their homes and suffer unimaginable consequences due to the Nashville Electric Service’s (NES) failure to properly prepare for the storm. I demanded answers from NES on why the company failed to prepare for the storm and prevent massive power loss for hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans. The company’s response was entirely insufficient. Whoever is responsible for this breakdown should be fired immediately to ensure this cannot happen again. Read more here.
	Those helping law enforcement in the fight against child sexual exploitation must be able to securely store evidence of these horrific crimes. My Safe Cloud Storage Act, which advanced unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, would provide limited liability protections to law enforcement-approved vendors who store and transfer child sexual abuse material to assist in law enforcement investigations of child sexual exploitation. I am pleased that this bipartisan bill is one step closer to becoming law. Read more here.
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have forced seniors to make the impossible choice between life-saving medications and other basic needs for years. Just last week, I heard from a Tennessean on a telephone townhall who was fed up with these middlemen who are driving up drug prices and hurting seniors like him. As part of the appropriations package, President Trump signed my Patients Before Middlemen Act into law, marking a major step forward in the fight to make prescription drugs more affordable. At a press conference following the bill signing, my colleagues and I celebrated this win and reiterated our commitment to reducing the foothold that abusive PBMs have on the prescription drug industry. Watch my opening remarks at the press conference here.
	Earlier this week, I spoke with Tennesseans in 14 counties in Upper East Tennessee about how the winter storms, the 2026 tax season, and the huge wins for Tennessee included in the appropriations package signed into law by President Trump. We also discussed how Republicans are lowering the cost of health care and sending resources to Tennessee to improve access to care in rural communities.

Marsha's Roundup

Watch My Interviews and Floor Remarks Below

Senator Blackburn discusses the appropriations package on Fox Business

Senator Blackburn discusses the SAVE Act on Fox News with Kayleigh McEnany

Senator Blackburn discusses the fight to keep DHS funded on Kudlow

Senator Blackburn speaks on the Senate floor following Winter Storm Fern

Meeting With Marsha

Senator Blackburn with the Friends of Fort Campbell

Senator Blackburn with Enough is Enough

Senator Blackburn Receives Award from Tennessee Narcotic Officers Association

Senator Blackburn with the National Association of Independent Colleges

Senator Blackburn speaks at a press conference on PBM reform

Senator Blackburn with MENTOR Memphis Grizzlies (MMG)

ICYMI

Last week, I chaired a Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing examining the impact of ticket sales practices and bot practices on American consumers. Read more about the hearing here, and read my column on it here.
The 2026 tax season will deliver historic relief for Tennesseans thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts signed into law by President Trump last summer. This landmark law prevented the largest tax hike in our nation’s history—$4 trillion—and includes measures that will jumpstart the American Dream for millions across the country. Read more about this in my weekly column here.