Defending the President

Dear Friend,

This week, I opposed efforts to sue President Obama just for doing his job, Congress passed a bill to help ensure our veterans receive the care they deserve, and I introduced a bill aimed at reducing teacher shortages in Memphis and around the country. Keep reading to learn more about what happened this week.

Defending the President Against a Political Lawsuit
Fighting for Our Veterans
Reducing Teacher Shortages
Protecting Students and Taxpayers
Good News for Memphis Kellogg Plant Workers
Working for Sane Criminal Drug Policies
Supporting Millington Regional Jetport
Promoting Healthier Foods
Grants for Memphis
Facebook Photo Contest
President Obama Seeking Mentors for Young People
Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property

Defending the President Against a Political Lawsuit

On Wednesday, Republicans in the House voted to bring a partisan, meritless lawsuit against President Obama for temporarily delaying certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act in order to properly implement the law – a law they voted to repeal more than 50 times. Republicans charged that the President engaged in “executive overreach.” However, President Obama issued fewer Executive Orders in his first term than Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, or President Reagan did in their first terms. Additionally, in the same week that they brought charges against President Obama for exerting his executive authority, Republicans also demanded that he use that executive authority to address the situation regarding unaccompanied children crossing our country’s southern border. This hypocritical lawsuit is nothing short of Impeachment Lite and I will continue to oppose partisan attacks against the President. You can watch my speech opposing the lawsuithere.

Fighting for Our Veterans
Any delay in providing care to the brave men and women who risked their lives for our country is unacceptable, and they deserve to receive the highest quality of care available. Since reports called into question the quality and timeliness of care at the VA Medical Centers in Memphis and at Centers around the nation, I have worked to ensure that our veterans’ concerns are taken seriously and the problems are addressed. In June, I arranged a visit from senior VA leadership to the Memphis VAMC, and this week Congress passed a bill to address some of the major problems.

The bill will help the VA build more hospitals and hire more doctors to reduce wait times and it 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 bill moves us 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.

Reducing Teacher Shortages
Over the last 10 years, school budgets have been stretched so thin that teacher salaries can no longer be counted on to cover the skyrocketing student loan debts of newly-graduated teachers. With states reporting more and more subject areas and regions that do not have enough teachers, we need to do everything we can to both incentivize these new graduates to start their careers where they are most needed as well as to retain them as they become more experienced.

That is why this week I introduced a new bill, the Maximizing Opportunity and Retaining Experienced Teachers Act (the “MORE Teachers Act”) to help address teacher shortages and retain qualified, experienced teachers. The legislation, which is supported by both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, would make teachers who teach in geographic areas with teacher shortages and those who teach an underserved subject matter eligible for up to $17,500 of federal loan forgiveness if they stay in their position for 5 years. My MORE Teachers Act is an important step towards ensuring our students receive the high-quality educations they deserve. You can read more about it here.

Protecting Students and Taxpayers

On Wednesday, I also joined Representatives Mark Takano and Susan Davis from California to help announce the Protections and Regulations for Our Students Act, or the “PRO Students Act.” Our new legislation would provide a number of protections to students and taxpayers as well as ensure that for-profit institutions, which enroll just 13% of postsecondary students but account for nearly half of all student loan defaults, derive at least 15% of their revenue from non-federal student aid.

We must make sure that for-profit colleges are held accountable both to the students they serve as well as to the taxpayers who keep their businesses afloat. I am proud to join Representatives Takano and Davis on this legislation that will help protect students from bad actors and ensure that taxpayer funds are used appropriately to further students’ educations, not simply to pad investors’ pocketbooks.

Good News for Memphis Kellogg Plant Workers
This week, U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Mays issued a ruling that will end the lockout at the Kellogg plant and put more than 200 Memphians back to work. After more than nine months of being locked-out simply because they were unable to negotiate a new contract, this ruling is a victory for hardworking middle class families in Memphis. Throughout this unnecessary and unfair lockout, I have supported the union workers and sympathized with their plight. I commend Judge Mays for his decision.

Working for Sane Criminal Drug Policies

Last weekend, the New York Times launched a new opinion page series on our nation’s criminal drug policies with an editorial calling for an end to the outdated, racially-biased federal prohibition on marijuana. After flying in from Memphis on Monday, I quickly went to the House Floor to make sure my colleagues in Congress had the opportunity to read the editorial, which is spot on when it concludes that “it is long past time to repeal this version of Prohibition.” You can watch my speech here.

I have long fought to end the federal prohibition on marijuana, and have co-sponsored and written several bills to move towards that goal, including a bill to let states decide how to regulate marijuana, another to create a National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy that could review our current laws as well as recommend changes, and a bill to fix a strange quirk in federal law that the New York Times on Tuesday called “one of the most anti-scientific, know-nothing provisions in any federal law.” This last bill would eliminate the provision that prohibits the Office of National Drug Control Policy (often called the “Drug Czar”) from providing honest recommendations when asked about marijuana. You can read the New York Times piece about this bill here.

I will continue working to roll back our draconian policies on marijuana, and I am pleased that the New York Times has joined the effort.

Supporting Millington Regional Jetport
I joined over 100 of my House colleagues this week in sending a letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta in support of the Federal Contract Tower Program (FCTP), which is a partnership between the government and the private sector aimed at improving air traffic safety at 252 airports around the country, including the Millington Regional Jetport. The Millington airport is a valuable asset to our community, and I will continue to support the FCTP program as I have in the past. I hope that Administrator Huerta does everything he can to ensure its continued success.

Promoting Healthier Foods

Earlier this week, I met with representatives from the Seafood Nutrition Partnership, a group that is launching an interactive pilot program in Memphis, Boston, and Indianapolis to help educate Americans about the health benefits of fish. Among the representatives was former NBA star Detlef Schrempf. I enjoyed the chance to talk to him about healthy eating and also about Memphis basketball legends Keith Lee, Vincent Askew and William Bedford. Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera regularly challenges professional basketball players to one-on-one competitions. I wonder if there might be a Schrempf-Pera game.

Grants for Memphis
On Monday, I announced almost $1 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding for Memphis to improve port security, help keep our city safe, and grow our economy. The Shelby County Government was awarded $5,000 in funding under the same announcement and Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions, Inc. Memphis was also awarded $24,999.

Facebook Photo Contest

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 send it to me at RepCohenFBphotos@mail.house.gov with your name, phone number, the location or address where the photogragh was taken and the photograph attached (no larger than 3MB). I'll post the best photos sent in an album 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!

Wishing you a happy and safe weekend,

As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress