Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid Now Under Assault
Dear Friend,
This week, I celebrated the 60th anniversary of the popular Medicare and Medicaid programs that the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress have under assault. I also wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator demanding responsible testing of commercial aircraft emergency evacuation years after legislation I authored required it, signed on to litigation challenging Trump’s immigration fiascos, announced a major grant to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, reported a National Science Foundation (NSF) chemistry research grant to Rhodes College, announced a National Institutes of Health grant to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), condemned Iran’s execution of political prisoners last weekend, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act international human rights accord, and offered a Bill Day cartoon and a seasonal health tip. Keep reading and follow me on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens.
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid Programs Now Under Assault
Demanding that the FAA Conduct a Meaningful Study of Aircraft Evacuations
Challenging the Trump Immigration Disaster
Announcing $3.4 Million NIH Grant to St. Jude
Reporting a $180,000 NSF Grant to Rhodes College
Announcing $77,000 Grant to UTHSC
Expressing Concern about Hunger in Gaza
Condemning Iran’s Execution of Political Prisoners
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid Programs Now Under Assault
President Johnson signing the Medicare Act with former Preisent Truman looking on. Also pictured are First Lady Lady Bird Johnson (in blue), Vice President Hubert Humphrey and former First Lady Bess Truman (in yellow)
On Wednesday, the nation celebrated the 60th anniversary of the day President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, creating national health insurance programs for older adults, people with disabilities, and people with low incomes. In the first three years, Medicare and Medicaid enrolled nearly 20 million beneficiaries. By 2025, Medicare has an enrollment of more than 68 million and Medicaid has more than 71 million. Both programs are extremely popular, and their need is recognized by more than 80 percent of those polled. Nonetheless, these Great Society safety net programs are under assault by Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters despite the harm it will do to many of them. I have always strongly supported Medicare and Medicaid and will continue to work with my colleagues to improve access to health care, not make it harder.
Demanding that the FAA Conduct a Meaningful Study of Aircraft Evacuations
Also Wednesday, I wrote to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford demanding that his agency conduct a realistic study of whether commercial aircraft can be evacuated in the federally mandated 90 seconds. My SEAT Act, which became law in 2018, required such a study but the FAA chose to conduct it with a totally unrepresentative sample of air travelers – no elderly people, no children, no passengers with therapy animals – and the result was widely discredited. In the wake of the American Airlines incident last Saturday in Denver, where it reportedly took more than 10 minutes to evacuate a smoky 737, it is well past time to address this issue in a serious way. See my release and the letter here.
Challenging the Trump Immigration Disaster
Over the last several months, the Trump Administration has repeatedly and unlawfully blocked Members of Congress from carrying out oversight of abuses in our immigration detention system. On Thursday, as a member of the Democratic Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group, I joined my colleagues in fighting back with a first-of-its-kind lawsuit asserting our constitutional responsibility to serve as a check-and-balance on the executive branch and its weaponization of immigration enforcement. Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security is undermining our values as a nation of immigrants and one anchored in the rule of law. ICE and DHS have repeatedly and illegally arrested and detained American citizens and lawful permanent residents without due process. The task force has already had a string of successes in the courts, and this case is sure to be another that will hold this authoritarian administration’s cruel and unlawful policies to account.
Announcing $3.4 Million NIH Grant to St. Jude
Last Friday, I announced that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will receive a grant of $3,428,212 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research on T-cell quiescence. The research is under the direction of Dr. Yongqiang Feng. See my release on the funding here.
Reporting a $180,000 NSF Grant to Rhodes. College
On Monday, I announced that Rhodes College will receive a grant of $180,000 from the prestigious National Science Foundation for a project studying dopamine. The research is under the direction of Professor Larryn Peterson, Chair of the Rhodes Chemistry Department. See my release here.
Announcing $77,000 Grant to UTHSC
Also Monday, I announced that the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will receive a grant of $77,000 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for HIV research. The research is under the direction of Associate Professor Dr. Theodore Cory in the College of Pharmacy. See my release here.
Expressing Concern about Hunger in Gaza
On Wednesday. I joined 92 Congressional colleagues in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing concern about the more than two million people of Gaza facing “critical levels” of hunger and about the U.S.-linked organization “with no prior humanitarian experience” delivering aid to them. We also expressed concern about the widespread violence at food distribution sites in Gaza. We raised a series of questions for Rubio and set an August 14 deadline.
Condemning Iran’s Execution of Political Prisoners
On Wednesday, I joined Congressman Tom McClintock, a Republican from California, as co-chairs of the Congressional Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus, in a statement condemning Iran’s execution of two political prisoners on Sunday. It was another horrifying display of brutality by a regime that will not tolerate democratic dissent. See our statement here.
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act
Earlier today, I joined the three other bipartisan, bicameral leaders of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. That international accord called for human rights to be honored in Eastern Europe. Ensuring its observance is the rationale for our Helsinki Commission. See our statement here.
This is me with President Biden at the White House in 2023
A Bill Day Cartoon -- "The Cheat"
The tick population has exploded this summer and, with it, exposure to tick-borne illnesses like Lyme Disease. The best way to avoid these illnesses is reducing exposure and checking for them after walking in tall grass or through wooded areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has some good guidance on avoiding exposure and what to do if you are bitten by a tick here.
Former President Harry Truman holds up pens after President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare Act 60 years ago this week. Behind them are Lay Bird Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey and formner First Lady Bess Truman
“In 1935 when the man that both of us loved so much, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, signed the Social Security Act, he said it was, and I quote him, ‘a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but it is by no means complete…’ And just think, Mr. President, because of this document—and the long years of struggle which so many have put into creating it—in this town, and a thousand other towns like it, there are men and women in pain who will now find ease. There are those, alone in suffering, who will now hear the sound of some approaching footsteps coming to help. There are those fearing the terrible darkness of despairing poverty—despite their long years of labor and expectation—who will now look up to see the light of hope and realization.” – President Lyndon Johnson, addressing a crowd that included President Harry Truman, as he signed Medicare and Medicaid into law on July 30, 1965
As always, I remain
Sincerely,
|
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress