Holding a Town Hall Meeting Monday Evening
Dear Friend,
On Monday evening, August 11, I will host an in-person Town Hall Meeting to discuss Republicans’ assault on SNAP, Medicare, Medicaid and other critical programs with constituents and hear their concerns. I’ve invited a representative of the Tennessee Justice Center to join us and talk about recent changes in federal law and how they will affect TennCare and other programs. I also wrote to the Secretary of Transportation to stress how important it is to implement his department’s final rule on the airlines’ handling of wheelchairs and other mobility devices, did a nationally televised interview with Chris Cuomo of NewsNation on the Jeffrey Epstein files and the rise in antisemitic incidents, announced a federal grant to discourage drug use for Tipton County, released a statement on the fifth anniversary of pro-democracy street protests in repressive Belarus, and offered a health tip, a Bygone Days photo, and a Bill Day cartoon. Keep reading and follow me on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens.
Hosting a Town Hall Meeting Monday Evening
Stressing Need to Implement DOT Rule on Wheelchairs
Seeking Files on the Jeffrey Epstein Case
Announcing $50,000 Grant to Drug Free Communities Grant to Tipton County
Calling for an End to Repression in Belarus
Hosting a Town Hall Meeting Monday Evening
On Monday evening, I will host an in-person town hall meeting with 9th Congressional District constituents at Mississippi Boulevard Christion Church, at 70 North Bellevue Boulevard. Shana Watkins, the health advocacy program manager at the Tennessee Justice Center, will also participate. I’ll field your questions about the harms Donald Trump and his cronies are doing to the social safety net, the economy and the normal functions of the federal government. I hope to see you, and consider bringing a friend. RSVP here.
Stressing Need to Implement DOT Rule on Wheelchairs
On Tuesday, I led a letter with Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada and ten other Congressional colleagues to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stressing the need to implement a rule for the airlines’ handling of wheelchairs and other mobility devices. The rule incorporates measures we wrote into last year’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act. The final rule, published in December of last year, emphasizes that passengers using the devices should be treated with dignity and respect. See my release and the letter here.
Seeking Files on the Jeffrey Epstein Case
On Tuesday night, I went on the Chris Cuomo show on NewsNation opposite my old friend Congressman Tim Burchett, Republican of Knoxville, and we talked about the need to get the Jeffrey Epstein files released. Earlier in the day, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee announced new subpoenas for Bill and Hillary Clinton, among others, in the congressional probe into the pedophile financier and former close friend of Donald Trump. Speaker Mike Johnson sent Congress home early to avoid a floor vote authorizing the release of the files, but the truth will come out about Trump’s role in the case. We also talked about a recent antisemitic incident in St. Louis and what can be done about the rise in such cases.
Announcing $50,000 Grant to Drug Free Communities Grant to Tipton County
Last week, I announced that the Tipton County government’s Drug Free Tipton program will receive another $50,000 to extend its Drug Free Communities grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Local Drug Cases Program. Now that I represent a substantial part of Tipton County, I especially appreciate this kind of federal assistance. See my release on the grant here.
Calling for an End to Repression in Belarus
Five years ago, the streets of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, were overrun by citizens protesting a rigged election. Although a handful of political prisoners have since been released, the conditions remain much the same. On Thursday, I released a statement calling for a restoration of democratic norms through the Helsinki Commission on which I serve on Thursday as its House Ranking Member. See that statement here.
The Shelby County Health Department’s 901HIVTesting.com portal allows residents to order free in-home self-testing kits delivered to their homes. The incidence of HIV in our region is higher than the national average so you might consider checking your status. Read more about the tests here.
This is my mother Genevieve in 2006. She passed in 2010. August 12 is or was her birthday.
A Bill Day Cartoon – “Pinning the Blame”
“Telling states they can only redistrict once per decade might de-escalate the gerrymander wars, and it would mainly ratify the status quo of recent years. Both parties could benefit from this kind of disarmament treaty, and voters most of all.” – Wall Street Journal editorial on Monday entitled “Texas Reopens the Gerrymander Wars”
As always, I remain
Sincerely,
|
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress