Defense

“On this anniversary, we need to remember the sacrifices of our fighting men and women and do what we can to honor their memory and their wishes,” said Congressman Cohen. “It is a travesty that our laws do not allow a soldier’s wishes to be honored – especially something as simple, yet meaningful, as overseeing the disposition arrangements.”

“More than one third of our 1.5 million American troops have served at least two tours in the recent war efforts,” said Congressman Cohen. “Sadly, many of them leave behind young children wondering why their parent had to go away. These children face serious challenges and they need the love and support of their neighbors and communities. Thankfully, there are options to help young children cope with the strain of having a parent deployed abroad.”

H. R. 2638 includes a $1.6 million appropriation for the University of Memphis, requested by Congressman Cohen in a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton on March 13, 2008. The university will use these funds to develop a battlefield nursing program utilizing enhanced, state of the art procedures, techniques and equipment to train U.S. nursing students.

“I am very pleased to announce this huge contract for FedEx from USTRANSCOM,” said Congressman Cohen. “FedEx is second to none when it comes to providing global shipping, transport and logistics needs, so it is no surprise that the Department of Defense awarded them this contract. This contract will strengthen FedEx, and that is good for Memphis.”

“We do have to have certain techniques to ferret out information and protect our people, but at the same time we have to respect our laws,” said Congressman Cohen during his cross-examination of one of the panel-members.

The purpose of the hearing, as Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (MI-14) explained, was to determine the “who, how, when, where, and why of the destruction of the videotapes; and most importantly, what might have been shown on them.”

“Funding for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) is vital and I’m extremely pleased with this victory for the Ninth District,” stated Congressman Cohen. “This project has been a legislative priority for me. This appropriation will provide funding for this worthy project that saves lives, creates jobs and gives Memphis a competitive advantage. A properly equipped RBL will serve as a magnet for bioscience business and industry.”