Applauding President Biden's Vision at the Annual State of the Union Address
Dear Friend, This week, I attended the annual State of the Union address and heard President Biden take deserved credit for what he and Congress have been able to accomplish during his first two years in office, including record low unemployment, higher wages, a successful vaccine rollout, investing in American families, rebuilding our physical infrastructure, and so much more. I was honored to have the Reverend J. Lawrence Turner of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church as my guest and pleased the White House acted on my recommendation to invite Tyre Nichols’ parents to the historic event. I also questioned expert witnesses at a hearing on federal aviation policy, introduced a bill to add medically necessary dental care to Medicare coverage, announced an aging research grant to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), relaunched the State Medicaid Expansion Caucus, spoke and voted against a proposal to end the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for foreign travelers to the United States, was recognized for my leadership on animal issues by the Humane Society of the United States, and offered a health tip for new mothers. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens. Applauding President Biden’s Vision at the Annual State of the Union Address Setting Priorities for Federal Aviation Policy Introducing Medically Necessary Dental Coverage for Medicare Beneficiaries Announcing Aging Research Grant to UTHSC Relaunching the State Medicaid Expansion Caucus Opposing Plan to Lift COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Foreign Travelers to the United States Supporting Humane Treatment of Animals Applauding President Biden’s Vision at the Annual State of the Union Address Congressman Cohen and Reverend Turner On Tuesday night, I attended President Biden’s State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. I was honored to have as my guest the Reverend J. Lawrence Turner, senior pastor at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, who last week presided at the funeral of Tyre Nichols. I recommended to the White House that the President invite Tyre’s parents to the State of the Union and was delighted to see that they were seated in the First Lady’s box. During his address, President Biden called for reforms to make our communities safer for all Americans and highlighted his record of accomplishments in the first two years of his Administration, including record low unemployment, massive investment in critical infrastructure, a steady easing of inflation, managing the COVID-19 response and expanding access to affordable health care and prescriptions. The President also endorsed my Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act, requiring billionaires to pay their fair share, and called for implementing elements of my Forbidding Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous (FAIR) Fees Act to prevent airlines from charging families to sit together on airplanes. The state of our nation is strong. Setting Priorities for Federal Aviation Policy As the newly appointed Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee, I questioned expert witnesses Tuesday at a full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Congress periodically reauthorizes the FAA and its programs, and I made clear that priorities I advocated in the 2018 bill, including a study of airline seat sizes, must now be fully implemented. See my release on Tuesday’s hearing, including my opening statement and questions to expert witnesses, here. Introducing Medicare Medically Necessary Dental Care Act Almost half of Medicare beneficiaries don’t have access to dental care. I introduced a bill on Monday that would provide coverage for certain medically necessary dental procedures. See my release on the measure here. Announcing Aging Research Grant to UTHSC On Monday, I announced that the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will receive a significant research grant from the National Institute on Aging. See that release here. Relaunching State Medicaid Expansion Caucus More than a decade after passing the Affordable Care Act, eleven states have yet to expand Medicaid. Because state politicians in Tennessee and other states are choosing politics over good public policy, millions of Americans remain without coverage. Today, I relaunched the State Medicaid Expansion Caucus and introduced an accompanying resolution with the Caucus co-chairs affirming congressional support for expanding Medicaid in every state. Opposing Plan to Lift COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Foreign Travelers to the United States On Wednesday, I spoke on the House floor against a short-sighted Republican resolution ending the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for foreign travelers to the United States. With approximately 500 deaths a day from COVID-19, and surges in places such as China, lifting the guidance now seems needlessly careless, and I voted against it. See my release, including the floor speech, here. Supporting Humane Treatment of Animals This week, the Humane Society of the United States released its legislative scorecard for 2022 and I again received its highest score: “100+.” As a longtime member of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, I am always pleased to advance efforts to assure the humane treatment of animals. See my release here. The Shelby County Health Department is offering free breastfeeding assistance to Shelby County mothers and their families at a new “Baby Café” at 1826 Sycamore View Road. It is the first-ever facility in Shelby County to provide drop-in access to breastfeeding professionals, including a Licensed Registered Dietitian, a Certified Lactation Consultant, and a Certified Lactation Consultant/Peer Counselor. The Baby Café is free and will offer breastfeeding advice, support, assistance, and referrals at no cost to any pregnant or breastfeeding mother living in Shelby County. The Shelby County Baby Café will be available to pregnant and nursing mothers each Tuesday and Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Monday, Wednesday and Friday by appointment. Call 901-831-3690 to make an appointment. Click here for more information. “Social Security and Medicare are a lifeline for millions of seniors. Americans have been paying into them with every single paycheck since they started working. So tonight, let’s all agree to stand up for seniors. Stand up and show them we will not cut Social Security. We will not cut Medicare. Those benefits belong to the American people. They earned them. If anyone tries to cut Social Security, I will stop them. And if anyone tries to cut Medicare, I will stop them. I will not allow them to be taken away.” – President Biden at the State of the Union on Tuesday As always, I remain. Steve Cohen |