Fighting for our Veterans and Stopping Excessive Use of Police Force
Dear Friend,
This week, Congressmen John Conyers, Bobby Scott and I demanded a Congressional hearing into the recent uptick in excessive—even deadly—use of force and civil rights violations by local police departments, I welcomed Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald to Memphis, and the world lost a comedic and dramatic genius who was also a great friend of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Robin Williams. Keep reading to learn more about what I did this week.
Stopping Excessive and Deadly Use of Police Force
Supporting the Memphis Health Center and All Community Health Centers
A New Federal Judge for Western Tennessee
President Obama Seeking Mentors for Young People
Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property
Any delay in providing care to the brave men and women who risked their lives for our safety is unacceptable and they deserve to receive the highest quality of care available. That is why since reports of substandard and delayed care at VA Medical Centers here at home and around the nation arose, one of my top priorities has been to ensure that senior VA leadership visit our city and see firsthand the issues we face here in Memphis.
I was glad that Acting Deputy Under Secretary Jan Murphy accepted my invitation in June, and I was very pleased to welcome our new VA Secretary, Robert McDonald, to Memphis during his visit for the AMVETS Convention and to meet with officials and stakeholders at the Memphis VA Medical Center. Secretary McDonald is the right man at the right time, and I hope that his visit to our city signals his department’s improved focus on swiftly and fully addressing the concerns of our veteran community.
I am also pleased that President Barack Obama recently signed into law a bipartisan bill to build new VA facilities, hire more doctors, and reduce wait times. The new law will also allow veterans who can’t get timely appointments or who live far away from VA Medical Centers to seek care from private doctors outside of the VA system. This is a step in the right direction and I was pleased to support it. I will continue working to ensure that our veterans receive the care they deserve and were promised.
Our nation’s veterans are heroes who risked their lives for our safety and security, and no one who puts his or her life on the line for our freedom should live at risk of homelessness. On Monday, I announced more than $1.3 million in federal funding for Memphis-area organizations to help prevent local low-income veterans and their families from becoming homeless and to find housing for those that already have. This funding will help our community take an important step towards the goal of eliminating veteran homelessness.
Stopping Excessive and Deadly Use of Police Force
As the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, yesterday I joined Ranking Member of the full Judiciary Committee John Conyers of Michigan and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime Bobby Scott from Virginia in demanding that Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte convene a Congressional hearing on recent incidents of local law enforcement using excessive—sometimes deadly—force and other violations where civil rights have been infringed upon.
In our letter to Chairman Goodlatte, we highlighted the troubling events that have transpired in Ferguson, Missouri and those of similar nature that have occurred recently in New York City, Los Angeles, and Houston. Our letter also expresses concern over the extensive militarization of local law enforcement. I will join Michael Eric Dyson this afternoon at around 4PM on MSNBC’s The Ed Show to discuss our demand for an investigation into these issues, please tune in! The use of overwhelming force by police against unarmed citizens requires the urgent attention of Congress. I hope Chairman Goodlatte convenes a Judiciary Committee hearing as soon as possible.
Supporting the Memphis Health Center and All Community Health Centers
Community health centers play a critical role around the nation by delivering care to the most vulnerable among us regardless of their ability to pay. Whether in my time in the Tennessee General Assembly or in Congress, I have always been a champion for community health centers, and earlier this week I was honored to receive the 2014 Distinguished Community Health Advocate award from the National Association of Community Health Centers at the Memphis Health Center.
The Memphis Health Center provides incredibly important health services and high-quality, affordable care to citizens throughout the Ninth District, and it is currently undergoing an expansion thanks in large part to $4.7 million in federal funds provided by President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act. I was pleased to be at the Memphis Health Center on Tuesday as they celebrated reaching the highest level in the construction process, and I look forward to seeing the completed project. When finished, the Memphis Health Center will be better equipped to achieve the goals of the President’s health care reform law and reduce health inequalities and disparities in Shelby County.
This week, I also visited Christ Community Health Services, which received nearly $5 million in funding through the Affordable Care Act. I will keep working to ensure that health centers in Memphis and around the nation continue to receive strong support from the federal government. I will also continue to advocate for Medicaid expansion and continue calling on Governor Haslam to act in the best interest of Tennesseans—especially those who benefit the most from the services of organizations like Christ Community and the Memphis Health Center.
Earlier today, I joined the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce to help welcome the Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank, Fred Hochberg, to Memphis. I introduced Mr. Hochberg to the group and spoke out in support of the Bank, which plays an important role in helping Memphis small businesses, and countless companies around the nation, compete in international markets.
By helping finance exports of goods and services to international markets, the Bank has supported roughly $239 billion in exports. While the Bank assists businesses of all sizes, 65 percent of the businesses it supports are small businesses, which employ over 50 percent of the working population and have generated 65 percent of new jobs since 1995. Since 2007, the Bank has supported nearly $134 million in export sales from Memphis businesses, including nearly $17 million this year alone. This underscores why the Bank is so critical to maintain for the Memphis business community and for supporting and creating jobs right here at home.
Currently, however, there is a battle in Washington over reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank’s charter, which is set to expire at the end of next month. Failure to extend the Bank’s charter will mean less security for American exporters and job losses across the nation and possibly here in Memphis too. This is why I cosponsored the Protect American Jobs and Exports Act of 2014, which if passed and signed into law, will reauthorize the charter. While a majority of both Democrats and Republicans understand how important reauthorizing this charter is, several Republican House leaders do not.
When Congress returns in September, we will have only 10 legislative days out of the entire month to take action and pass legislation to protect American exporters and jobs. I will continue to pressure Speaker Boehner to make this issue a priority and hope the charter is reauthorized quickly.
A New Federal Judge for Western Tennessee
Today, our new U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman had her official “investiture” ceremony, where I gave remarks as her status as a federal judge was formally conferred. When she was serving as Chief of Staff to University of Memphis Interim President R. Brad Martin, I recommended her to President Obama to fill this vacancy on the bench after I convened a diverse and bipartisan screening committee to conduct interviews of nine potential candidates for the position.
I am extremely pleased that President Obama accepted my recommendation and nominated Sheryl Lipman to be our new U.S. Federal District Judge and that the U.S. Senate confirmed her overwhelmingly. She has a wealth of life and professional experience, which attracted diverse, bipartisan, and biracial support. She was the overwhelming choice of the panel which helped me make my recommendation. I know she will make an outstanding judge who puts fairness and justice into every ounce of her work.
Robin Williams was a comedic and dramatic genius. I was a great fan of his as were so many. He was a great humanitarian, a great friend of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and he often visited Midtown to spend time with his brother who teaches physics at Christian Brothers High School. He will be greatly missed. I keep a magnet from one of his shows on my desk and the photo at the beginning of this newsletter on my Capitol Hill office wall. The photo of the two of us was taken in Memphis at a St. Jude fundraiser.
I’m updating my Facebook cover photo—and my next one could be a photo that you took! If you have a great photo that represents the Ninth District and you'd like to have it highlighted on my Facebook page, please click the link below to send it to me. I'll post the best photos sent in an album next week, and anyone who "likes" my page will be able to vote to choose which photo will be my next cover photo.
President Obama Seeking Mentors for Young People
It is important that all children can count on caring adults who are engaged in their lives, but too many young people lack this important support. That’s why President Obama is calling on Americans to sign up as long-term mentors to young people through his new “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative. The President is seeking people from all walks of life who want to develop sustained and direct mentoring relationships that will play vital roles in the lives of young people in Memphis and around the country. If you are interested in signing up to help young adults in our city stay on track, you can do so here.
Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property
The State of Tennessee maintains a searchable database of unclaimed property, which can include bank accounts, stocks and dividends, wages, refunds, insurance payments, gift certificates, credit balances and overpayments, and a number of other things. There is no cost for accessing the database, and you may find that you are owed money or property. If you have not searched the database yet or if you haven’t searched in a while, you can visit https://www.claimittn.gov and see for yourself whether the state is holding any property or assets for you. And you may pass this information along to your friends and family as well!
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress