Fighting the Racial Disparity in Breast Cancer Outcomes in Memphis
Dear Friend,
This week, I launched my “Building a Healthier Memphis” series on wellness in the Ninth District with a panel discussion on the racial disparity in breast cancer outcomes in our city, introduced legislation that could help in the fight for a sane national marijuana policy, and continued to speak out to protect the HOPE Scholarship that so many of our state’s young people rely on. Keep reading to learn more.
Building a Healthier Memphis
Fully Funding the HOPE Scholarships
Protecting Worker’s Rights
Join My February 25th Telephone Town Hall
Fighting for a Sane Marijuana Policy
Promoting International Relations
Ensuring Memphians Get the Tax Returns They Deserve
Helping Memphians Get Covered
United States Naval Academy Summer Programs
Helping Veterans Become Homeowners
Grant Announcements
Among the many benefits of the Affordable Care Act is free preventive care for services like mammograms that can detect breast cancer. A New York Times story noted that Memphis is “the deadliest major American city for African-American women with breast cancer.”
The racial disparity in breast cancer outcomes is deplorable, but we can take steps to reduce it. A primary reason for the high mortality rate among African American women is late diagnosis, when the disease is harder to treat and has much lower survival rates. That’s why yesterday, I launched my “Building a Healthier Memphis” series on wellness in the Ninth District by hosting an expert panel discussion and education session about this disparity and what we can do to address it and improve outcomes for victims of breast cancer in our city. News Channel 3 ran a story about our event, which you can watch here.
The overflow crowd at yesterday’s event heard about several causes behind the difference in outcomes, including a disparity in economic situations and education, poor health and wellness habits, difficulty accessing transportation, and a lack of insurance and local clinics. There were also several representatives, including Carolyn Whitney of Sisters Network and Linda Reddick of Seeds 2 Life, from groups that help breast cancer survivors by providing services and care that they need. You can find more information from some of these groups and the services they provide at these links: https://sistersnetworkinc.org/ and https://seeds2life.org/.
I’m encouraged by all of the Memphians who attended the panel and education session to learn how they can help improve their own health and the health of their families and communities. Everyone in the Ninth District should know that provisions of the President’s Affordable Care Act enable them to get mammograms with no co-pays or deductibles. Taking advantage of the Affordable Care Act could help save lives in our city and around the country. And don’t forget that the open season deadline to enroll in health coverage for this year at HealthCare.gov is March 31st.
Fully Funding the HOPE Scholarships
Over the last 10 years, the HOPE Scholarship program that I worked for 20 years as a State Senator to create has been an outstanding success that has provided $2.9 billion to Tennessee’s best and brightest. And while this funding has been critical to helping students attend college and complete 4-year degrees, the HOPE Scholarship has never fully funded college scholarships, as intended, because state lawmakers have not allowed it to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of higher education.
Today’s HOPE Scholarships pay a smaller portion of college costs than it did 10 years ago and, if Governor Haslam’s newly-announced plan to slash the first two years of HOPE Scholarships by 25% is implemented, it will provide even smaller scholarships for freshmen and sophomores. The first two years of college are crucial for students finding their way. With scholarships paying a smaller portion of tuition, families will have to pay more and students may need to work more hours while studying, making academic success and retention of the HOPE Scholarship more difficult. Today’s college students are graduating with more student loan debt than ever before, crippling their chances of economic success.
To ensure that HOPE Scholarships continue to help Tennessee’s students afford college and succeed, the program must keep pace with the rising cost of higher education. But the Governor’s newly-announced “Promise” actually cuts funding from high-achieving students beginning 4-year degree programs. I am extremely concerned and remain cautious about any plan that would make it harder for our state’s proven young people to begin attending the best universities in Tennessee, or any plan that places additional financial burden on schools like the University of Memphis which are already struggling to keep costs down and provide high-quality educations.
Rather than raiding the scholarship fund’s excess to create a new government program, those funds should be used to provide full HOPE scholarships. Tennesseans voted to repeal our state’s constitutional prohibition on lotteries based on the idea of replicating the success of Georgia’s successful HOPE program which provides full college scholarships. That promise to the people moves farther from being realized with every new idea to siphon money from the scholarship program. Once scholarships are fully funded, the excess funds would be better used, as I personally expressed last year to Governor Haslam, by raising the income cap on or raising the amount of Aspire Awards that give middle- and low-income students who work hard extra help to give them a fair shot at success.
This week, at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant, workers are voting to decide whether or not they want to take the first step towards creating a “works council” like those present at most other VW plants around the world. Doing so would be revolutionary for the manufacturing industry, fostering more collaboration between management and workers on everything from plant rules to working hours and leave policies. And it would help bring jobs to our state. But sadly, outside interest groups have been funneling money and advertisements into Chattanooga to try to influence the vote. These groups have their own big-moneyed interests at heart and are not looking out for Tennesseans. If you want to know more, I encourage you to read an op-ed I wrote in the Chattanooga Times Free Press earlier this week. I also joined The Ed Show on MSNBC on Wednesday to discuss the issue, and you can watch my interview here.
Join My February 25th Telephone Town Hall
On Tuesday, February 25th, at 6:30PM CT I will host a telephone town hall to answer your questions and discuss a variety of topics including what Memphians can do to reduce the breast cancer outcome racial disparity and how everyone can better take advantage of the Affordable Care Act. I hope you can join our telephone town call later this month. If you would like to participate in this telephone town hall on the evening of Tuesday, February 25th, please fill out the form here with your home phone number.
Fighting for a Sane Marijuana Policy
Nobody dies from marijuana, but people die from heroin overdoses every day. Every second that 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 and methamphetamine. That’s where our priority should be. When we put marijuana on the same level as LSD, crack, heroin, meth, and cocaine—as the federal government has—it makes young people distrust what they are being told about hard drugs because they know that what they are being told about marijuana is wrong. There is a cultural lag in this country, and Congress and this Administration must fix it. I joined Milissa Rehberger on MSNBC over the weekend to discuss this. You can watch my interview here.
But one of the reasons for our current policy is that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), commonly referred to as our “Drug Czar,” is required by law to oppose changing the legal status of marijuana, even if it is proven to have medical benefits. The ONDCP is also prohibited by law from studying whether or not there could be any benefits. That troubles me, because the ONDCP’s job should be to develop and recommend sane drug control policies, not be handcuffed or muzzled from telling the American people the truth.
How can we trust what the Drug Czar says if the law already preordains the ONDCP’s position? That’s why this week, I introduced the “Unmuzzle the Drug Czar Act” to remove those restrictions and give the ONDCP the freedom to recommend more sane drug policies for our nation. My bill would give the ONDCP the freedom to use science—not ideology—in its recommendations and give the American people a reason to trust what they are told. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to pass this important legislation.
I also co-signed a letter with several other Members of Congress to the President this week encouraging the reclassification of marijuana from Schedule I on our nation’s controlled substances “schedule,” as it is currently listed, to a less strict classification. This is a higher listing than cocaine and methamphetamine. If a drug is listed under Schedule I, it means that the federal government recognizes no medical use. Including marijuana in this classification disregards both scientific medical evidence and the laws of nearly half of the states that have legalized it for medical purposes.
Promoting International Relations
On Tuesday, I attended a lunch hosted at the State Department by Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden to honor French President Francois Hollande, who was visiting our country to meet with President Obama. At the lunch, I spoke with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, General Colin Powell, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, as well as National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D. I also had a long conversation with FedEx founder and CEO Fred Smith.
Ensuring Memphians Get the Tax Returns They Deserve
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is too important for people to overlook, and everyone who is eligible should claim it when filing their taxes. But historically, eligible taxpayers in Memphis and Shelby County have not taken full advantage of the program—last year alone, as much as $70 million in potential tax credits were left on the table by area taxpayers.
Memphians shouldn’t pay more than they owe, and they should receive every penny they deserve in refunds. That’s why I attended the grand opening of one of 15 new Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites that recently opened throughout Shelby County to provide guidance and advice free of charge to ensure that eligible Shelby County citizens take advantage of programs like the EITC and get the tax refund they are entitled to. Click here to find a VITA site near you to help ensure you get every penny you are owed.
All Memphians should have quality health insurance and the President’s landmark Affordable Care Act is making affordable, higher-quality coverage available to people who have not had access to it in the past. Luckily, many who have been unable to afford quality coverage in the past are now eligible to enroll in Tennessee’s Health Insurance Marketplace. Please don’t forget that the open season deadline to enroll in health coverage for this year at HealthCare.gov is March 31st. And if you do not have health insurance coverage, you may also be eligible to save money on your health care premiums in the Marketplace.
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 1 (800) 318-2596, visit www.HealthCare.gov, or call Tennessee’s navigator, Seedco, at (901) 528-8341. 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. If you are one of the millions of Americans who need health insurance, you can sign up for coverage for 2014 until the open enrollment period closes on March 31st, 2014. Visit www.healthcare.gov today to look at your options.
The Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 147,000 individuals in the district now have health insurance that covers preventive services without co-pays, $3.1 million in insurance premiums have been returned to consumers, and more than 5,000 seniors on Medicare paid a total of $5.9 million less for their prescription medications as we continue to close the ‘donut hole.’ Also, health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and young adults up to age 26 can now stay on their parents’ insurance plan.
Many of the Marketplace website issues that have been in the news have been resolved. However, the Marketplace website is only one tool that you can use to sign up for coverage. If you are having trouble accessing the website, please do not hesitate to call the Marketplace Hotline at 1 (800) 318-2596 or visit the Affordable Care Act Navigators at Seedco's Mid-South office at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900) for in-person help. Seedco can also be reached by phone at (901) 528-8341, and if you have any other questions, you should feel free to call my office at (901) 544-4131.
United States Naval Academy Summer Programs
Each year, the United States Naval Academy invites more than 3,000 students to Annapolis, Maryland, to participate in its summer programs. The Academy’s summer STEM program, which is now accepting applications here, gives rising 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th graders the opportunity to learn from some of the best college professors in the country and work in world-class lab facilities. The Academy’s Summer Seminars gives rising 12th graders the opportunity to find out if they have what it takes to be midshipmen by allowing them to experience the rigorous academics, physical challenges, and student life at the Naval Academy. More information about the Summer Seminar and how to apply is available here.
Helping Veterans Become Homeowners
Last year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs helped a record number of veterans obtain mortgage loans and become homeowners. In guaranteeing nearly 630,000 home loans, the VA’s Loan Guarantee program helped more veterans become homeowners or move to a new home than at any point in its 70-year history. Not only is this great news for veterans, but it also is another sign that our housing market is rebounding—and that is good news for everyone. The VA Loan Guarantee program has some of the lowest foreclosure rates around and, along with offering low interest rates, their loans do not require a down payment from first-time buyers. If you are a veteran looking to purchase a home, you can learn more about the program here.
I regularly release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others. These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the Ninth District. The announcements are updated regularly on my website.
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress