Dear Friend,
After Republicans spent another week in Washington infighting and working as hard as possible to keep Congress stuck in reverse, they recessed last Friday for the entire month of August without adequately funding the food stamp (SNAP) program, advancing comprehensive immigration reform, or fixing the devastating cuts caused by sequestration. But, before they left town with so much left to do, they were able to fit in a 40th useless vote to repeal President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act—even though they know it will go nowhere in the Senate. While House Republicans refuse to do their jobs in Washington, I’ve been hard at work in Memphis all week. Keep reading to learn what I’ve been up to.
Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx in MemphisLeMoyne-Owen College Grant to Help Students48th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act50th Anniversary of the Great March on WashingtonSpeech at the Memphis Rotary ClubRemembering Speaker Pro Tempore Emeritus Lois DeBerryNational Nights OutHelping Keep College Affordable with HOPE ScholarshipsGrants to MemphisBusiness Resources for the Affordable Care ActMorning TelevisionGrant Announcements
Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx in Memphis
On Wednesday, I joined Mayor A.C. Wharton in welcoming Anthony Foxx, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, to Memphis. Before the Mayor and I sat down to discuss local transportation priorities and other important projects with the Secretary, we showed him around our city—including the BNSF rail yard and the FedEx late night hub operation—and took him on a bus tour that ended at Harahan Bridge. After I worked for years to secure funding for the project, the Department of Transportation finally awarded a TIGER Grant last year that gave the project life. Having Secretary Foxx in Memphis provided a great opportunity for him to see where DOT funding has helped Memphis and to have him see firsthand how Memphis can benefit from future projects. Thanks to Mayor Wharton, his Chief of Staff Bobby White and the Mayor’s team for their hard work in making the Secretary’s visit a success.
LeMoyne-Owen College Grant to Help Students
Just this morning, I visited LeMoyne-Owen College to highlight a $1.7 million competitive grant that I announced for a project that will help prepare students for postgraduate education and careers in high-paying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields—the so-called “STEM” fields. This important investment will build on the College’s long history and its proven successes helping prepare students with the skills and knowledge they need to compete for the high-paying, advanced STEM jobs of our modern economy. This is good news, not just for LeMoyne-Owen and Memphis but for our nation’s economy.
48th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act
This week marked the 48th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson signing the landmark Voting Rights Act in 1965. Earlier this year, however, a Supreme Court ruling struck down important protections in the law that have helped secure the right to vote for all Americans for nearly 5 decades.
With the 50th anniversary of the Great March on Washington that led to the Voting Rights Act only weeks away, it is sad that the Supreme Court decided to gut some of the law’s most important provisions. While the Department of Justice works to ensure that the civil rights protections that remain in the law are fully enforced, Congress must act quickly to fix the Supreme Court’s mistake, return the Voting Rights Act to full strength, and protect the civil and human rights that we fought for decades to obtain.
50th Anniversary of the Great March on Washington
A public ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington will be held in DC on August 24th. If you are planning to be in our nation’s capital the week of the 24th, please let my office know—there may be additional events you will want attend and I want to make sure you are aware of them. Just call my Washington, DC office at 202.225.3265 or send an email to patrick.cassidy@mail.house.gov.
Speech at the Memphis Rotary Club
On Tuesday, I spoke to members of the Memphis Rotary Club and held a question and answer session. The members of the Rotary Club and I talked about a wide variety of issues—everything from Secretary of Transportation Foxx’s visit to health care reform and from Presidential judicial nominations to how we can work together to bring more good-paying jobs to Memphis. I really enjoyed having the chance to talk with so many Rotarians and local business owners.
Remembering Speaker Pro Tempore Emeritus Lois DeBerry
Speaker Pro Tempore Emeritus Lois DeBerry, the longest serving member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, passed away last week. She was a respected and effective African American legislator as well as a great orator and a go-to leader on everything from civil rights to children's and women's issues and on all things Memphis.
Lois DeBerry was fearless, breaking through barriers to become the first African American female to be elected to the General Assembly from Shelby County and the first female as well as the only African American to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House. At her funeral on Sunday, I presented a flag that I had flown above the United States Capitol in her honor. The flag flew above the Capitol on the same day that Congress commemorated the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington in which Lois DeBerry participated in 1963.
National Nights Out
On Tuesday night, I joined Memphians across the city in standing up to crime and violence at 7 different National Night Out events. It was great to see so many people working to keep their communities and their families safe—it’s a goal that we should all share.
Helping Keep College Affordable with HOPE Scholarships
The Tennessee Lottery, which I worked for nearly two decades to establish when I was in the Tennessee Senate, raised more than enough to fund the HOPE Scholarships and other financial aid options that are available for students and families. As the new school year begins, students and parents should do all they can to obtain the financial aid that is available to them and do everything they can to make sure they remain eligible or become eligible for as much aid as possible. This week I spoke with a student who has a 2.9 GPA. If that student maintains a slightly-higher GPA for her senior year of high school, she can raise her overall GPA to the 3.0 required to earn a HOPE Scholarship. With college costs on the rise, there’s no reason not to put in the extra effort when as much as $5,500 per year is available from the state to help pay for school. For more information about the Tennessee Lottery Scholarship and other financial aid options available through the State of Tennessee, visit www.tennessee.gov/tsac.
Grants to Memphis
I announced more than $1.5 million in federal grant funds to Memphis organizations this week. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was awarded $411,250 and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis was awarded more than $885,000 for important research projects. Two local organizations that are working to reduce homelessness were also awarded a total of $373,888 in funding to support their work.
Business Resources for the Affordable Care Act
President Obama’s Administration recently launched a new online tool – Business.USA.gov/healthcare – to give employers of all sizes to access a one-stop-shop of educational and background materials on how implementation of the landmark Affordable Care Act affects businesses, both large and small. The tool will provide information that is customizable based a company’s location, size, and their plans for offering health benefits to their workers next year. The website is a user-friendly hub for information and content, including a timeline of key implementation dates, a glossary of healthcare terms, information about health care marketplaces and tax credit eligibility, and other resources. The online tool is another example of the Administration reaching out and engaging the business community as it implements health care reform.
Morning Television
This morning, I appeared live on both Channel 3’s Live At 9 and Fox 13’s Good Morning Memphis to talk about this week’s work. Watch my interview on Channel 3 here and my FOX 13 interview here.
Grant Announcements
I regularly release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others. These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the 9th district. The announcements are updated regularly on my website.
As always, I remain. Most sincerely,Steve Cohen Member of Congress