Business and Community Leaders Gather for Washington Update with Sen. Luther Strange

June 2, 2017

U.S. Senator Luther Strange addresses business and community leaders at the Washington Update Luncheon on May 31, 2017 at the Von Braun Center North Hall.

June 1, 2017

By Claire Aiello

Luther Strange has been Alabama’s junior Senator for just three months. He visited with business and community leaders in Huntsville on May 31, saying he’s impressed with our city’s continued growth.

“It’s been my pleasure to be engaged in this community over a long period of time — to work with small and large companies here — you’ve grown and expanded,” said Sen. Strange. “ To attend openings, to tour facilities… Hudson Alpha Institute started out in a field in the Research Park and is now a globally recognized biotech research facility that’s the pride of our state. So I’ve seen it in action and your presence today demonstrates why Huntsville is the dynamic community that it is.”

Sen. Strange said President Donald Trump is putting good Cabinet members in place, specifically mentioning Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose seat Strange was appointed to fill. Strange also said he is impressed with General James Mattis, the Secretary of Defense, Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State and Lt. General H.R. McMaster, National Security Advisor.

“What they’re bringing to the government which is so needed, and I saw this as Attorney General, is a common sense, conservative approach to real problems that people face in their daily lives every day.”

Senator Strange said he is confident the team investigating Russia and the 2016 Presidential Election will handle it well. He was firm, though, that he isn’t hearing many questions about that from Alabamians.

“I travel around the state every single day, from top to bottom, east to west, north south, big cities, small towns. And I have yet to have anybody come up to me and say they’re worried about the Russians meddling in our elections. I have no doubt the Russians tried to meddle in our elections and they’ll continue to try and do it, just like they have my entire lifetime. But we should have confidence in the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee is going to get to the bottom of it. We have a former FBI director, Robert Muller, one of the brightest, sharpest people who’s going to get to the bottom of it… I have no doubt we will find out exactly what happened, who was involved.”

Senator Strange said the main concern he hears from citizens is about health care costs. He said people want solutions for high premiums, low coverage and deductibles.

“That’s what’s on people’s mind, and you see it when you go to the doctor and somebody doesn’t have coverage for their medicine. That will be the number one thing on our list when we get back next week.”

Sen. Strange serves on the Budget Committee, Armed Services Committee, Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

A fun fact he also shared — at 6’9”, Luther Strange is the tallest person in history to serve in the U.S. Senate.

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