Fighting for Justice
Dear Friend,
This week, I spoke with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch about the Darrius Stewart case and our nation’s misguided drug laws at a House Judiciary Hearing, fought to keep my paratransit amendment in the highway bill during the House-Senate Conference Committee, spoke out against the Republican bill to effectively end the U.S. refugee programs for Syrians and Iraqis, and introduced a bill to protect our veterans and service members from the for-profit college industry’s predatory marketing campaigns. Keep reading to learn more or follow me on Twitter and Facebook to see these updates as they happen.
Fighting for Justice
Serving on the Highway Bill Conference Committee
Keeping America Safe
Reforming our Nation’s Drug Laws
Fighting for NIH Funding
Protecting our Veterans
Honoring Willie Nelson
Join My Telephone Town Hall on Monday, November 30th
Helping Memphians Get Covered
Bringing Congress to your Corner
2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available
Fighting for Justice
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, I again asked U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to open a federal investigation into the shooting death of Darrius Stewart to see if any civil rights laws were violated. I’ve written to her about this before, but I appreciated the opportunity to ask her about it in person this week. I also asked her if she would work to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, a category that is otherwise reserved for only the most dangerous and highly-addictive drugs like heroin and LSD, and prioritize federal enforcement efforts based on which drugs pose the highest risk to public safety. Finally, I asked her about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) which is used to discriminate against those in the LGBT community. You can watch my questions for Attorney General Lynch here.
Serving on the Highway Bill Conference Committee
On Wednesday, I participated in the House-Senate Conference Committee for the federal highway funding bill. As the Congressman for one of our nation’s largest transportation hubs, I voiced my support for higher funding levels to improve America’s roads, bridges, and mass transit. I also pushed to keep my amendment to encourage local transit agencies to ensure their systems are safely and effectively supporting the mobility of people with disabilities. Furthermore, I spoke in support of a provision to make transit-oriented development infrastructure projects eligible for financing under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program. Transit–oriented developments, walkable communities near reliable transit service, create benefits for the whole community. Demand for living near transit is projected to double over the next 20 years and, to meet this demand, significant new development near transit stations will be needed. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to finalize a long-term surface transportation bill. You can view my committee speech here.
Keeping America Safe
On Thursday, I spoke on the House floor against the Republican bill to shut down our refugee program for Iraqi and Syrian refugees. As a Member of Congress, my first responsibility is to protect the American people and do everything it takes to keep our country safe. We must ensure that not only refugees from Syria and Iraq, but also refugees from every country are subject to a rigorous screening process that ensures no terrorist or criminals are allowed access to the United States. We can do this while also maintaining our core humanitarian values. The House bill passed on Thursday was instead nothing more than a political attack on President Obama and did nothing to make us safer from terrorist or criminal threats. The House should work in a bipartisan fashion to appropriately address loop holes in our current visa programs, including the visa waiver program, which is much more likely to threaten our national security, as well as stop individuals on the terrorist watch list from obtaining guns and explosives. You can view my floor speech here.
Reforming our Nation’s Drug Laws
On Wednesday, I addressed members of the Drug Policy Alliance during their 2015 Captiol Hill lobbying day. The war on drugs has failed. Every second we spend trying to enforce marijuana possession laws is a moment that we’re not enforcing laws meant to protect Americans from the ravages of drugs like heroin, meth, and opioids. That’s where our priority should be. It is ludicrous to classify marijuana on the same level as heroin and LSD. There is a cultural lag in this country, and Congress and this Administration must fix it. As long as marijuana remains a Schedule I drug, the FDA is extremely limited in its research on the medical value of marijuana and its effect on people. My constituent, Chloe Grauer, passed away last year from her seizures because she could not get access to Charlotte’s Web, a non-psychoactive oil from the marijuana plant. More research needs to be done on marijuana’s effects on childhood epilepsy, cancer, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma, and extreme pain.
Fighting for NIH Funding
In case you missed my opinion editorial for the Commercial Appeal on the need for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help find cures and treatments for deadly diseases, you can read it here. The NIH is our nation’s personal Department of Defense for America’s health and Congress must increase its funding.
Protecting our Veterans
On Thursday, I introduced the bipartisan Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act with my colleague Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC). This bill would help put an end to the for-profit college industry’s predatory marketing campaigns and aggressive recruiting of veterans, servicemembers and their families. Too often, these schools fail in their duty to adequately prepare graduates for jobs that will allow them to repay those loans, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.
It would also eliminate the loophole that allows these proprietary companies to receive more than 90% of their revenue from the federal government. This loophole encourages bad behavior that weighs down our nation’s heroes with mountains of debt and few career prospects while lining the pockets of wealthy for-profit investors with taxpayer money. Simply put, this is unacceptable. We are entrusted with spending our monies efficiently and wisely, but too many for-profit colleges do not meet that test.
Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jack Reed (D-RI) have also introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.
Honoring Willie Nelson
On Wednesday, I attended an award ceremony and tribute concert hosted by the Library of Congress in honor of Willie Nelson receiving the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. After the concert, I had the opportunity to speak to Willie Nelson about our mutual friends and legislative issues before Congress. Neil Young, Paul Simon, Buckwheat Zydeco, Leon Bridges and others also shared the stage with Willie Nelson to pay tribute to the legend. The award ceremony and tribute concert will air on PBS on January 15 at 8pm CT.
Join My Telephone Town Hall on Monday, November 30th
On Monday evening, November 30th, at 6:30PM CT I will host a telephone town hall to answer your questions and discuss a variety of topics you feel are important to Tennessee’s 9th District. If you would like to participate in this telephone town hall on Monday, November 30th, please fill out the form here with your home phone number – unfortunately, we are unable to call cell phones.
Helping Memphians Get Covered
The HealthCare.gov insurance marketplace has opened for 2016 plan shopping and comparisons. While the current shopping period runs until January 31, 2016, December 15, 2015 is the deadline to enroll in coverage that will take effect on January 1, 2016. You can visit https://bit.ly/hcSavings 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 2016 but you should still visit 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.
If you are on Medicare or your employer offers qualified health insurance in which you are enrolled, 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 the healthcare navigator 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.
Bringing Congress to your Corner
Thanks to all who came by “Congress on your Corner” at the Whitehaven Branch Library today. On Friday, December 11 from 12pm to 2pm, my office will hold “Congress on your Corner” office hours at the Orange Mound Community Center at 2572 Park Ave. If you have questions or problems with Social Security, Medicare, FHA, the VA or any other federal agencies, my staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide assistance. We hope you can make it.
2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available
My office currently has a limited number of 2016 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 residents of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress