Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of D-Day
Dear Friend,
This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved my provision to add $5 million in funding to help eliminate the nationwide rape kit backlog, I spoke about the need to prevent childhood hunger, and President Obama’s Administration announced their plan to reduce carbon emissions and protect our air. Keep reading for more information about what else happened this week.
Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of D-Day
Helping Eliminate the Memphis Rape Kit Backlog
Preventing Childhood Hunger in Memphis
Remembering Senator Robert F. Kennedy
Constitution in the Classroom at Grizzlies Prep
Promoting Clean Energy and Protecting our Environment
Grants for Memphis
President Obama Seeking Mentors for Young People
Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property
Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of D-Day
Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day, when 73,000 American heroes charged onto the beaches of Normandy and helped secure a foothold that allowed the Allies to defeat the Nazis and win World War II. Too many of them—more than 6,600 of those brave Americans—never came back home. I hope we all take a moment today to remember the sacrifice of those who lost their lives as well as those who made it past the barrage of Nazi bullets alive and kept fighting to end Hitler’s quest for European dominance. Our nation’s veterans deserve our thanks and the utmost respect.
Helping Eliminate the Memphis Rape Kit Backlog
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives debated the Fiscal Year 2015 Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, which determines funding levels for a large number of federal programs and agencies. I’m glad that my House colleagues voted for an amendment that I introduced to provide more federal resources to local law enforcement agencies working to reduce their backlogs of untested rape kits. Of roughly 400,000 untested rape kits sitting in evidence rooms nationwide, an estimated 12,000 remain untested in Memphis—more than anywhere else in the country. Untested rape kits prevent law enforcement from apprehending violent criminals, increase the risk of additional crimes, and rob victims of the justice they deserve.
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Senate’s version of the CJS Appropriations bill and included my $5 million rape kit backlog reduction provision, which will now be considered by the full Senate. Absolutely no one should be a victim of sexual assault, and it is a travesty when communities are terrorized simply because evidence that could be used to prevent these crimes sits untested on a shelf somewhere. We know that, if tested, these rape kits could have helped catch perpetrators and prevent additional attacks.
We must do more to cut through this backlog—it’s the least we can do to give victims the justice they deserve and it is an imperative if we want to keep our communities safe from predators. Adding federal funding to help cut down the nation’s backlog improves the chances that Memphis will receive the resources it needs to do the same. My provision to provide additional funding to reduce the rape kit backlog is a step in the right direction. On Saturday, I was glad to join a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Alumnae Chapter forum to discuss how my amendment will help cut through the Memphis backlog.
Preventing Childhood Hunger in Memphis
For many young people in Memphis, one of their most exciting days is the last day of school before it lets out for the summer. But for others—for less fortunate children in our country—school letting out has a more negative consequence: without the lunches provided in school, they risk going without the food they need to live happy and healthy lives.
Access to nutritious meals is critical to a child’s development. On Monday, I joined the Summer Food Kickoff at Emerald Square in support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Summer Food Service Program. The program provides free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children get the nutrients they need to learn, play, and grow throughout the summer months when free school lunches are not provided to them.
The wealthiest nation in the world should not send its children to bed hungry, and making sure that they have the food they need should be one of our top priorities. I was proud to support legislation that provided significant funding to the program for this year, and I look forward to supporting President Obama’s request to increase funding to the Summer Food Service Program in next year’s budget. I will continue working hard to protect this vital USDA program and to make sure that no child in Shelby County goes hungry.
Remembering Senator Robert F. Kennedy
“There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” – Robert F. Kennedy, March 18, 1986
In addition to the anniversary of D-Day, today also marks the 46th anniversary of the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Senator Kennedy was a tireless advocate for bringing opportunity and hope to Americans living in the inner city. His Bedford-Stuyvesant redevelopment project inspired me and showed me just how public servants can transform and improve lives.
Today, Senator Robert F. Kennedy still has a special place in my heart—as well as on the wall in my Capitol Hill office, where I keep several photos of him. When the ACLU of Tennessee awarded me with their Bill of Rights Award (also on my wall in the photo above), I asked that the quote from Kennedy’s speech at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, two years to the day before his murder, be inscribed on the award:
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope… (and) those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
At his funeral, RFK’s brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, asked that the late Presidential candidate “not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.” It is in that spirit that I will continue working for justice and to reduce inequality as your Congressman.
Constitution in the Classroom at Grizzlies Prep
On Tuesday, I joined a 6th grade class at Grizzlies Prep for their “Constitution in the Classroom” program. I enjoyed the chance to speak with bright young students about my role as the Ninth District’s Congressman and why I chose a career in public service. I was also glad to answer their questions about our federal government and the legislative branch of Congress.
Promoting Clean Energy and Protecting our Environment
In 2012, Tennessee’s power plants pumped as much carbon pollution into our air as roughly 8 million cars. With nearly 1 in 10 Tennessee children suffering from asthma, it’s time to do more to protect the air we breathe. This week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced President Obama’s proposal for ensuring that the future of our environment is clean and safe. The President’s proposal enables states to create plans that will cut carbon emissions significantly, help avoid more than 6,000 premature deaths and 150,000 asthma attacks in children nationwide—all while providing as much as $93 billion in other economic and public health benefits. Yesterday, I joined representatives from the NAACP, the Sierra Club, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy at a roundtable to express my support for the President’s plan. I will work with his administration to help our state implement the plan so that Tennessee can be a leader in promoting a cleaner and healthier environment.
This week, I announced more than $4.5 million in funding for Memphis organizations. The Memphis Health Center was awarded more than $3.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration. The Memphis Health Center provides incredibly important health services and high-quality, affordable care to citizens throughout the Ninth District. I was pleased to announce this significant investment of funding that will help the Memphis Health Center achieve the goals of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and reduce health inequalities and disparities in Shelby County. I also announced more than $1.3 million in funding for 5 projects at the University of Memphis. You can read more about those grants here.
President Obama Seeking Mentors for Young People
It is important that all children have 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