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Honoring our Veterans and Building a Healthier Memphis

November 14, 2014
Enewsletters

Dear Friend,

This week, I hosted my best-attended annual Veterans Day luncheon for more than 300 Memphis-area veterans, I introduced Ron Walter—who I recommended the President nominate for the TVA Board—at his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, Congress came back into session and the HealthCare.gov health insurance marketplace opens for 2015 plan shopping tomorrow. Keep reading to learn what else I did this week.

Honoring our Veterans
Construction Begins on Main to Main at Harahan Bridge
Welcoming TVA Board Nominee and Memphian Ron Walter to Washington
Helping Memphians Get Covered with the Affordable Care Act
Protecting our Environment and Stopping Keystone XL
Stopping Efforts to Rob African-Americans of Their Voting Rights
Memphis New Ballet and Memphian Briana Brown Honored at the White House
Winning an Excellence in Public Service Award
Saving the HOPE Scholarship and Fighting for Tennessee Students

Honoring our Veterans

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Tuesday was Veterans Day, which we set aside each year to honor those men and women who have served our country in uniform. This year, I was proud to host my 6th annual Veterans Day luncheon for more than 300 Memphis-area veterans, breaking attendance records for previous years. I spoke to the veterans about what we are doing in Congress to address recent concerns at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Memphis VA Medical Center (VAMC) Director Dr. C. Diane Knight, U.S. Navy Commanding Officer—Naval Support Captain Doug Walker, and Alpha Omega Veterans Services Director Cordell Walker addressed the attendees.

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After reports of substandard care arose last year, I am pleased that follow-up reports show that the Memphis VA has implemented almost all of the VA Inspector General’s recommendations and is moving in the right direction. I was proud to support the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act which was signed into law by President Obama and will help VAMCs around the country hire more doctors, reduce wait times, and allow veterans who live far from their closest VAMC to seek care from closer private doctors. I will continue working to ensure that the Memphis VAMC receives needed resources including funding and improvements that will help minimize preventable deaths, eliminate redundancies that can impact patient care, and increase efficiency and veterans’ trust in the system.

Construction Begins on Main to Main at Harahan Bridge

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On Monday, I joined Downtown Memphis Commission President Paul Morris to help highlight the start of construction for the Main to Main project at Harahan Bridge. It will be the longest bike bridge in the country and it's a big federal project for Memphis which will create jobs. I am proud of my work to secure the $15 million federal TIGER grant that is helping fund it.

Welcoming TVA Board Nominee and Memphian Ron Walter to Washington

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Earlier this year, after I recommended Ron Walter to President Obama to fill a vacancy on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors, the President nominated him for the position. I was pleased to recommend Ron to the President, as I have known him for nearly 40 years and know of no finer citizen of our community. He is diligent in all things and active and loved in the community for his genuine, caring attitude. This week, I was proud to introduce Ron at his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works. I know he will do an outstanding job and serve the TVA constituency with good judgment and rectitude if confirmed. You can watch footage of me introducing Ron here.

Helping Memphians Get Covered with the Affordable Care Act

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All Memphians deserve quality health insurance and the President’s Affordable Care Act is making affordable coverage available to people who have not had access to it in the past. Thanks to the landmark healthcare reform law, the uninsured rate for the Ninth District has plummeted by 10%, 15,000 citizens who did not have insurance coverage now do, more than 200,000 Memphis-area residents have insurance that covers preventive care, and no one can be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition anymore. The Affordable Care Act is already working for Memphis and for the whole country.

Tomorrow, the HealthCare.gov insurance marketplace will re-open for 2015 plan shopping and comparisons. While this year’s shopping period runs into February of next year, December 15th is the deadline to enroll in coverage that will take effect on January 1st, 2015. You can visit this page to see if you qualify for tax credits that will be applied as discounts on your monthly insurance premium. If you already have insurance coverage through the HealthCare.gov marketplace, your plan will be automatically renewed for 2015 but you should still visit the newly-redeveloped, more stable, and easier-to-use HealthCare.gov to update your information, ensure you receive the full tax credit to which you are entitled, and review new options as cheaper insurance plans that better fit your needs may now be available.

While the application process at HealthCare.gov has been streamlined and simplified this year, a one-page guide is available here and Tennessee’s health care navigator Seedco will be hosting several enrollment assistance sessions over the coming weeks if you are interested in receiving in-person assistance. Their Open Enrollment Kick-Off and Health Fair will be held tomorrow from 9am to 1pm at First Baptist Broad Church (2835 Broad Avenue), and they will host additional enrollment sessions at the Ben Hooks 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.

If you are on Medicare or your employer is offering qualified health insurance that you are enrolled in, you’re already covered and won’t need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren’t sure whether or not you should use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at (800) 318-2596, visit HealthCare.gov, or call Seedco at (901) 255-2955. You can also call my office at (901) 544-4131 or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee’s Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you.

Hosting Kerry Kennedy, Daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, in Memphis

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On Saturday, I showed my friend Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and a niece of President John F. Kennedy, around town. We went to St. Jude, the Rendezvous, to see the ducks and roof view at the Peabody, and to the National Civil Rights Museum—sharing the museum’s history with her was special as her family is so inextricably linked to the civil rights movement and played such an outsized role in our nation’s history. Kerry was in Memphis to speak at the 2014 Call to Action Conference last weekend.

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Protecting our Environment and Stopping Keystone XL

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House Republican leadership this week rushed through an ill-advised plan to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. This was the first of the many attacks on President Obama and his agenda that will surely come as Republicans take control of both Houses of Congress next year. As the House debated the measure, I spoke on the floor to highlight the damage that the pipeline will do to our environment and, as today’s NPR Morning Edition quoted me saying, point out that almost all of the “permanent jobs” that Republicans like to claim will be created by Keystone will actually be jobs cleaning up oil spills. Every year, 3.2 million gallons of oil spill out of pipelines in the country. It’s possible that Keystone will create jobs—but jobs cleaning up more oil spills aren’t the kind of jobs Americans want.

Stopping Efforts to Rob African-Americans of Their Voting Rights

All Americans hold dear the sacred, constitutionally-protected right to vote. Too often, we take for granted the principle of “one person, one vote.” In recent years, many conservative-led state legislatures in the South have redrawn their legislative districts to minimize the influence held by minority communities, specifically African-American communities, using a practice known as “packing.” By packing as many minority voters as possible into a single district, these legislatures actually dilute minority voting rights by reducing the number of districts their votes can influence. Last month, I sent Attorney General Eric Holder a letter asking that he do what he can to stop it, and this week the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the practice.

While it may be done under the pretext of protecting minorities or ensuring they are represented, recent “packing” efforts actually have the opposite result, materially reducing the impact and influence of African-Americans in our democracy. It is no coincidence that the five congressional districts with the most African-Americans are all in the Deep South—and it demonstrates that there is much work to be done to truly emerge from the shadows of slavery and Jim Crow. . The Supreme Court should put a stop to this shameful tactic and fully protect the constitutional rights of every American, regardless of skin color.

Memphis New Ballet and Memphian Briana Brown Honored at the White House

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I am very proud that the Memphis New Ballet and Memphian Briana Brown were honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. The First Lady gave the Ballet, represented by Briana Brown, the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, which includes a $10,000 grant to support the Ballet. Congratulations to the New Ballet and to Briana!

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Winning an Excellence in Public Service Award

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On Sunday, Wiley College and the Carver Arts & Education Project awarded me with their Excellence in Public Service Award for “a lifetime of service to the citizens of Shelby County and the State of Tennessee.” I am proud to receive this distinction, to be recognized for my work, and for the honor of representing the citizens of the Ninth District.

Saving the HOPE Scholarship and Fighting for Tennessee Students

Recently, Governor Haslam defended his “Tennessee Promise” plan that raids $300 million this year and millions more annually from the HOPE Scholarship program by arguing that our state hasn’t “increased the number of Tennesseans who are going to school,” and that he believes his plan is what the state needs to do that. However, a new report shows that the Governor is just plain wrong. Between 2007 and 2012, enrollment in Tennessee’s public colleges actually rose by more than 22%. But while enrollment picked up substantially, state funding per student actually fell by nearly 18%, making it harder for our state’s best and brightest to afford higher education.

If the Governor truly wants to increase both enrollment and graduation rates, he should support and fully fund the HOPE Scholarship program instead of crippling it by raiding more than $300 million from lottery revenue to pay for a completely untested program with no standards. The Governor should work with the General Assembly to provide full tuition HOPE Scholarship so that more high-achieving Tennesseans can go to college, earn degrees with less debt, and contribute to our state’s economy.

As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
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Steve Cohen
Member of Congress

Issues:9th DistrictArtsEducationEnergyHealth CareMemphisShelby CountyTennesseeVeterans' Affairs