Honoring Nelson Mandela's Memory
Dear Friend,
This week, the late Nelson Mandela was on my mind quite a bit. The life he led and his steadfast dedication to the principles of forgiveness and reconciliation stand alone in their impact on the world as we know it today. The importance and priority that he placed on those principles played a role in my introducing the first Congressional apology for slavery and Jim Crow laws to pass in the U.S. House of Representatives five years ago. Apologizing for past wrongs is the first step towards forgiveness and reconciliation, and it was an important step for Congress to take that helped bring people with different backgrounds and historical experiences together. I spoke with Joie Chen on “America Tonight” about what Mandela’s death means for us and how we can move closer to the goal of true reconciliation. My interview will air in the coming days on "America Tonight," which airs at 8PM CT. While the channel depends on your television provider, you can click here to learn where it airs for you. Keep reading to learn more about what went on in Washington this week.
Passing a Bipartisan Budget Compromise
Helping Memphians Get Covered
Fully Funding the National Institutes of Health
Hope Scholarships
2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available
Grants to Memphis
White House Internships
Grant Announcements
Passing a Bipartisan Budget Compromise
America is tired of government by crisis and of a Congress that lurches from one shutdown threat to the next. Last night, I voted for a two-year bipartisan budget compromise that will provide the stability both the business community and the American people need and deserve. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 passed the House by a 332 to 94 vote, putting us on course to pass the first budget through a divided Congress since 1986. You can watch me discussing the budget deal on “America Tonight” by clicking here.
While I don’t agree with everything in the bill, I joined President Obama in supporting it because it is a significant step in the right direction. This budget will also alleviate some of the crippling effects of sequestration by restoring $25 billion for non-defense discretionary programs like Meals on Wheels, LIHEAP, and research at the National Institutes of Health that could lead to cures for debilitating and fatal diseases.
Still, I am disappointed that this agreement does nothing to help the more than one million Americans at risk of losing unemployment benefits just days after Christmas. Before the budget passed yesterday, I voted to ensure this agreement extended a lifeline to those Americans looking for work, but Speaker Boehner and his colleagues did not join me and the vote failed. I will continue to urge the Speaker to keep the House in session until an extension of the unemployment compensation program is passed.
All Memphians should have quality health coverage and the President’s landmark Affordable Care Act—also known as Obamacare—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, though the deadline to enroll for coverage that starts on January 1st is just 10 days away. 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 going to offer qualified health insurance next year that you will enroll 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 will need to use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit www.HealthCare.gov. You can also call my office 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 that will take effect January 1, 2014 until December 23, 2013. Enrollment in the marketplace will remain open until March 31, 2014 if you miss the deadline for coverage starting in January. Visit www.healthcare.gov today to look at out your options.
The Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District and the recent government shutdown didn’t change that. 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 recently 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 Seedco Mid-South for in-person help. Seedco is located at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900), and they can be reached by phone at 901-528-8341. If you have any other questions, you should also feel free to call my office at 901-544-4131.
Fully Funding the National Institutes of Health
On Wednesday, the House debated a bill called the Kids First Research Act. Supporters of the legislation claim the bill will redirect the spending of the tax dollars that fund political conventions—which amount to a mere $13 million dollars, or less than 1% of the $1.5 billion cut from the NIH this year through sequestration—to raise funding for pediatric research, though in reality the bill does not guarantee that funding will be used for research at all.
The NIH is our nation’s true Department of Defense—it defends us from cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, AIDS and diabetes. And its budget for research into new cures is being decimated by sequestration. The $13 million in research funding this bill proposes doesn’t replace even 1% of the cuts made by sequestration. I spoke out about this attempt to distract America from these cuts on the House floor. You can watch my speech here.
Memphis is home to the world’s best pediatric cancer center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. They deserve to be protected from these cuts, as do the countless kids who will be stricken with diseases and illnesses that research projects could cure if adequately funded. Those kids—and all of those suffering with a disease or illness that could be cured with adequate funding—need more than just the window-dressing this bill would provide. And while the bipartisan budget deal that the House passed yesterday gets us closer than this distraction, we need to do more to ensure the NIH is fully funded.
The Commercial Appeal reported this week that the Tennessee Lottery is projecting enough revenue to fund Hope Scholarships and other financial aid for as many as 102,000 Tennessee students. I worked for nearly two decades to establish the lottery when I was in the Tennessee Senate because it would help young people afford college. For more information about the Tennessee Lottery Scholarship and other financial aid options available through the State of Tennessee, visit www.tennessee.gov/tsac.
2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available
My office currently has a limited number of 2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive next year’s calendar, please completethis short 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 citizens of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.
This week, I announced almost $220,000 to help St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital continue providing training for the world’s first class doctors who choose to pursue the path of children’s medicine. You can read more about the grant here.
The White House Internship Program is currently accepting applications from young people who are interested in government and devoted to public service. If you—or anyone you know— would like to spend some time working at the White House, gaining valuable professional experience and building leadership skills, I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to apply. The application deadline is January 5th, 2014. Click here for more information.
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 9th District. The announcements are updated regularly on my website.
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress