Fighting to Preserve the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood
Dear Friend,
I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday season and a very Happy New Year. This week, I voted against the 62nd attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act and 11th attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, honored retiring Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong, praised the President’s executive action to reduce gun violence, and offered an amendment to protect victims of terrorism. Keep reading to learn more or follow me on Twitter and Facebook to see these updates as they happen.
Fighting to Preserve the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood
Honoring Retiring Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong
Reducing Gun Violence
Gaining Momentum on the Need for Independent Prosecutors
Protecting Victims of Terrorism
Beginning 2016 at Myron Lowery’s Annual Prayer Breakfast
Helping Memphians Get Health Insurance
Ensuring Memphians Get the Tax Refunds They Deserve
Fighting to Preserve the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood
On Wednesday, the House voted for the 62nd time to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the 11th time to defund Planned Parenthood. But in Tennessee, more than 236,000 have, so far, enrolled in a healthcare plan under the Affordable Care Act during the latest open enrollment period. That’s more than 236,000 people who, if this bill becomes law, will either not have healthcare or could have more expensive healthcare. And if Planned Parenthood is defunded, lower income citizens, some of whom live right here in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional district, would be prevented from receiving preventative health services such as mammograms, HIV testing, and access to birth control. This is a bad bill taking healthcare away from people who need it, otherwise can’t afford it, and otherwise who otherwise couldn’t get it. I was proud to vote against it. You can watch my floor speech here.
Honoring Retiring Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong
On Thursday, I honored retiring Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong on the House Floor. I started my career as Memphis Police Attorney and served three and a half years. I knew all of the directors and none were better than Toney Armstrong. It’s a tough job being a police director and a tough job being director of an urban police department, but he has done a fine job. Toney Armstrong will be a great director of St. Jude’s security department and he has a great team. Toney Armstrong and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: Thank God for each. A video of my floor speech can be found here.
Reducing Gun Violence
On Tuesday, President Obama issued an executive order to reduce gun violence and make our communities safer. From Newtown, CT to the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., and here at home in Memphis, America has been devastated by far too much gun violence. We cannot continue to sit back and let more than 30,000 Americans die every single year. I commend President Obama for taking action to try to prevent future gun violence after Republicans in Congress have refused to act. The President’s actions will strengthen life-saving background checks, protect communities with bolstered enforcement, improve mental health services and fuel research to make guns safer. The vast majority of Americans – including the vast majority of gun owners – believe we must take sensible steps to address these horrible tragedies. That’s what the President did today.
Gaining Momentum on the need for Independent Prosecutors
Momentum on our Police Training and Independent Review Act (H.R. 2302) is growing. This bill, which I introduced in May with Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) (whose district includes Ferguson, MO), would withhold full federal funding for law enforcement if independent prosecutors are not used for cases in which police use of deadly force results in death or injury. The bill would also withhold full federal funding if police are not trained on a variety of issues including mental health. H.R. 2302 now has 58 cosponsors including House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), and civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). Over the holidays, our bill was endorsed by the traditionally Republican-leaning Chicago Tribune and has previously been endorsed by the NAACP. This has become a critical issue in the wake of the Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Laquan McDonald, and Darrius Stewart shootings. It’s time to remove the conflict of interest that exists when local prosecutors investigate the same local police with whom they work so closely.
Protecting Victims of Terrorism
Today, the House voted down my amendment to the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015 (H.R. 1927) which would have protected the current ability of victims of terrorism to use class action lawsuits to recover from those responsible. We should be making it easier for victims to recover against terrorists, not harder. It is hard enough as it is to pursue class actions because of years of efforts by industry to make it more and more difficult to do so. It is just wrong to place the heightened burdens of H.R. 1927 on terrorism victims who seek justice for the acts committed against them. You can watch my floor statement against the bill and in support of my amendment here and here.
Beginning 2016 at Myron Lowery’s Annual Prayer Breakfast
On New Year’s Day, I spoke at former city councilman Myron Lowery’s 25th annual prayer breakfast. I had the opportunity to discuss some important issues for Congress in the upcoming year. I reiterated the need for a Department of Justice investigation into the Darrius Stewart shooting. I also discussed the need for criminal justice reform, Presidential commutations for non-violent, low level drug offenders serving sentences that under today’s law would have already been completed, and efforts to open trade and normalize relations with Cuba.
Helping Memphians Get Health Insurance
The HealthCare.gov insurance marketplace is still open for 2016 plan shopping and comparisons until January 31, 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 has automatically been 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.
Healthcare navigator SEEDCO will have enrollment assistance at the Benjamin Hooks Library at 3030 Poplar 38111, on Jan 8 and Jan 22, 2016 from 10:30am-3:30 pm. Consumers can call (901) 405-7890 if they need any additional information. SEEDCO will also be at the Benjamin Hooks Library on Jan 31, 2016 from 1pm-5pm.
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, you can call the Marketplace Hotline at (800) 318-2596 or visit HealthCare.gov. 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.
Ensuring Memphians Get the Tax Refunds They Deserve
April 15th – the deadline to file your 2015 federal tax return – is only a few months away. As you prepare your return, I hope you won’t overlook the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) if you are eligible for it. It is an important credit that can give families a financial boost and is too important for people to overlook. Sadly, eligible taxpayers in Memphis and Shelby County have not taken full advantage of the program. I want to encourage everyone who is eligible to consider claiming it when filing their taxes.
Memphians shouldn’t pay more than they owe, and they should receive every penny they deserve in refunds. In 2014, I helped open one of 15 new Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites that operate throughout Shelby County. The VITA sites are available to provide tax return guidance and advice free of charge to ensure that Memphians take full advantage of programs like the EITC and get the tax refund they are entitled to. More information including a list of all VITA locations and their hours is available at the Shelby County Trustee’s website, and I encourage you to find one near you to help ensure you get every penny you are owed.
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress