Helping Unemployed Memphians Find Good Jobs
Dear Friend,
This week, I announced $8 million in federal funding to help almost 1,000 unemployed Memphians find good-paying jobs, helped open Old Dominion's brand new Memphis Service Center which will create almost 200 jobs in our city, and met with minority business leaders in my office. Keep reading to learn more about what I did in Memphis this week.
Helping Unemployed Memphians Find Good Jobs
Creating New Jobs at Old Dominion in Memphis
Supporting Local Minority-owned Businesses
2015 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available
Impressive Memphis Family
Keeping America Safe from Ebola
Welcoming Memphians to My Capitol Hill Office
Grants for the University of Memphis
Supporting the Alzheimer's Association of the Mid-South
CBHS Electronics Recycling Event Tomorrow
Building a Healthier Memphis and Fighting Breast Cancer
Service Academy Nominations
Memphis Accepting the President's My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge
Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property
Helping Unemployed Memphians Find Good Jobs
While recent indicators show signs of recovery in our nation's economy, too many Memphians are still struggling to find decent jobs. That is why I was so happy to announce a more than $8 million federal grant earlier this week that will help almost 1,000 long-term unemployed citizens in the Memphis metropolitan find good-paying jobs in high skills industries. This new grant will help the Memphis Bioworks Foundation lead the Southern Education and Training Consortium's new Bio/IT program, a multi-state partnership that will offer advanced job training, coaching, and other services leading to direct job placement in bioscience and information technology (IT) positions.
This week's influx of federal funding will help provide an estimated 960 Memphians with the skills and training they need to fill modern, 21st century jobs in the Mid-South, and it will go an extra step to help identify and place them in those jobs. With Memphis Bioworks' proven track record of success, I am confident that this funding will be put to good use providing opportunities to our city's long-term unemployed. If you would like to know more about Memphis Bioworks and how this new job training and placement program will work, please click here to read today's Commercial Appeal story about it.
Creating New Jobs at Old Dominion in Memphis
On Wednesday, I spoke at the grand opening of Old Dominion's brand new, $30 million service center in Memphis. And last week, I was proud to announce a new $1 million grant that the University of Memphis received to track our region's transportation workforce development. With the new federal funding for U of M and the nearly 200 new jobs that will be created at Old Dominion's new facility, Memphis is further cementing itself as our nation's transportation hub.
But other cities want to emulate and compete with us, so we need to be sure that our focus on intermodalism and investment is stronger than ever so that we can stay competitive. That is why since coming to Congress, I have worked hard to secure infrastructure funding to benefit the Memphis region and help keep us ahead of the pack.
Although it has been difficult to find bipartisan agreement on major Transportation and Infrastructure bills in recent years, I am pleased to share that true, bi-partisan work is taking place on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Our national infrastructure is literally crumbling, and the fact that our nation's current transportation funding measure is temporary doesn't help. I look forward to continuing my work reaching across the aisle to pass a new highway funding bill that will get our nation back on the right road.
Supporting Local Minority-owned Businesses
Memphis is home to many well-qualified, high-potential minority entrepreneurs who do great work. Yesterday, in my Memphis office, I met with several minority business leaders including Luke Yancy and Roby Williams to discuss how we can work together to ensure success. Minority-owned businesses are critical to our city's economic development, and I have long pushed to ensure that minority business leaders have a seat at the table when economic policies are being discussed.
After years of hard work, my persistence paid off when the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded a $1 million grant to start the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center in Memphis. The MBDA is the only federal agency created specifically to foster the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses, and the Memphis Minority Business Center has helped our minority businesses secure loans and expand. Last year alone, the Memphis Minority Business Center produced $40 million in contracts and capital, which created or retained 932 jobs. I will continue working to support our city's minority-owned businesses and to help them ensure they are best prepared to compete for contracts with the federal government.
2015 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available
My office currently has a limited number of 2015 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive a calendar, please complete this form on my website. Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessee's Ninth District. Please feel free to share this email with other citizens of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.
On Tuesday I was pleased to welcome one of my former interns, John McKissack, and his family to my office in Memphis. John is a junior at White Station who hopes to go to Harvard, Oxford, or Williams. He received a 23 on his Pre-ACT test, which is a very impressive score when you consider that he took the test when he was still only in the 7th grade. John, a product of our public school system, was an excellent intern and he is a phenomenal student. His two younger brothers who are in the 7th and 8th grades are already following in his footsteps, and I'm sure his 3 year old sister is not far behind. I think his parents deserve a lot of credit for providing him with so many great opportunities to learn. I am sure they are very proud of John's achievements, and I am as well. I look forward to the family visiting Washington, D.C., and expect great things from each of the McKissack children. If you know a student who would like to intern in my office, they can send a resume and cover letter to my Washington, D.C. and/or my Memphis office.
Keeping America Safe from Ebola
Americans are very concerned about the recent Ebola epidemic that has plagued Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia in West Africa. Despite the small number of Ebola cases recently diagnosed in the United States, it is important to remember that the risk of an outbreak of the disease in this country is unlikely due mainly to our highly advanced health infrastructure. Each American who has contracted the virus in the United States has been a health care worker tending to a sick patient. It's also important to note that President Obama has recently implemented increased travel screening and tracking procedures at airports to further reduce the risk to Americans.
This afternoon, I joined Senator Alexander for an Ebola roundtable discussion at Methodist University Hospital, and I will keep a close eye on the situation as it develops. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have also launched a regularly-updated web page with information about Ebola and how our nation is working to address and prevent it from spreading. You can visit the CDC's Ebola information page here.
Welcoming Memphians to My Capitol Hill Office
This week, several Memphians visited Capitol Hill and I was pleased to be able to facilitate a tour of the Capitol building for them. I am glad that the Leachman and Cerrito families were able to have this experience while they visited our nation's capital.
Grants for the University of Memphis
After announcing several million dollars in federal funding for workforce development and innovative research at the University of Memphis last week, I was pleased to announce another $750,000 dollars for 3 different projects that will help keep our University at the cutting edge. You can read more about these projects here.
Supporting the Alzheimer's Association of the Mid-South
On Tuesday, I enjoyed meeting with Miriam Clay and Ken Levi of the Mid-South chapter of the Alzheimer's Association as well as others to discuss efforts to improve health outcomes for those suffering with the disease as well as reduce costs for their families. In Congress, I will continue supporting funding to research and improve Alzheimer's outcomes.
CBHS Electronics Recycling Event Tomorrow
If you have any old electronics to dispose of but don't wish for them to end up in a landfill, please consider bringing them to Christian Brothers High School between 9am and 1pm tomorrow. CBHS is inviting Memphians to drop off computers, accessories, network equipment, phones, printers, copiers, wires, cable boxes, batteries, and other items.
Building a Healthier Memphis and Fighting Breast Cancer
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the racial disparity in breast cancer outcomes in Memphis and throughout the county is deplorable, but we can do more to address it. This year, I launched my "Building a Healthier Memphis" series on wellness in the Ninth District with a panel discussion and educational session focused on this important issue. The panel at my event earlier this year discussed the reasons for the current outcome gap and helped identify how Memphians can take advantage of provisions of the President's Affordable Care Act that include no copay and no deductible mammograms to address the disparity and improve outcomes for themselves, their families, and their communities.
If you are interested in learning more about the Affordable Care Act, how it works, and how it can help you and your family, Seedco will be hosting informational sessions at the Ben Hooks Library from 10:30am to 1pm on October 23rd, 30th, and November 6th and 13th (this session will end at 5pm). When the health care insurance open enrollment period for 2015 coverage begins, Seedco will also host enrollment sessions at the library from 10:30am to 5pm on November 18th, and from 10:30am to 1pm on December 4th, 11th, 16th, and 18th. At each of these sessions, there will be certified health care navigators on site to answer questions you have about the law and assist you in the enrollment process. If you are interested in attending one of the enrollment sessions, please call 901.405.7895 to RSVP.
Every year, I have the honor of nominating ten highly qualified young people from the Ninth District for appointments to our nation's Service Academies. If you are interested in attending one of these outstanding institutions, I will be happy to consider you for selection as one of my nominees. To be eligible for appointment, you must meet a number of requirements listed here and be a legal resident of the Ninth Congressional District of Tennessee. If you are not certain that your legal domicile is in the Ninth District, call my congressional office at 901.544.4141 the number provided below and request address verification.
Before applying to my office for a Service Academy appointment, you should obtain an application from the Military Academy of your choice. If you are having trouble obtaining an application, please let me know and I will assist you. As part of the application process, please complete the Personal Data form located here, submit a Letter of Interest and return to my office with the following: 1) your highest ACT/SAT score, 2) three letters of recommendation from people who know you well (ministers, coaches, scoutmasters, teachers or employers are good options), and 3) an official transcript which includes your course listing, current GPA, grades, and class rank. Your transcript should be mailed to my office at 167 North Main Street, Suite 369 by your school in a sealed (unopened) envelope; report cards are not eligible.
All information must be submitted to my office no later than October 31, 2014. Once the information is received, you will be contacted to schedule an interview. If you have any questions, please contact Linda Archer at 901.544.4131.
Memphis Accepting the President's My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge
President Obama announced his "My Brother's Keeper" (MBK) initiative earlier this year to help ensure youth across the country, including boys and young men of color, have opportunities to overcome barriers to succeeding in life and to improving their lives. Just recently, the President announced the MBK Community Challenge to encourage communities to implement a coherent cradle-to-college and career strategy aimed at improving life outcomes for all young people. I am pleased that Memphis is an early acceptor of this challenge which aims to ensure that all children enter school prepared and read at grade level by the 3rd grade and ensure that all young people graduate from high school, complete a post-secondary education, are safe from crime, and that youth who are out of school are employed.
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