Reacting to Donald Trump's Conviction in New York
Dear Friend,
This week, I reacted to this historic felony guilty verdicts in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial in the first criminal trial of an American president with a brief statement that concluded: “In America, no one is above the law.” I also held a press conference to call attention to the $1 million I secured through the annual appropriations process for a job training initiative for young adults and older teens, expressed my dismay at Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s refusal to recuse himself from pending cases in which he has demonstrated bias, reintroduced my Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Equity Act, applauded a $5.2 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) retrofit grant to a senior living center, noted a substantial investment in energy efficiency for the state of Tennessee, announced federal grants to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Le Bonheur Community Health and Well-Being, and Tipton County, and offered a health tip about a recent uptick in HIV infections in Shelby County. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens.
Reacting to Donald Trump’s Conviction in New York
Celebrating $1 Million Job-Training Initiative with Agape Child and Family Services and CodeCrew
Expressing Disappointment at Justice Alito’s Refusal to Recuse after Demonstrated Bias
Reintroducing the CDBG Equity Act
Applauding $5.2 Million HUD Retrofit Grant to Wesley Stage Park Senior Living
Investing Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding into Energy Efficiency for Tennessee
Announcing Grants to St. Jude, Le Bonheur Community Health and “Drug Free Tipton”
Reacting to Trump’s Conviction in New York
Late Thursday afternoon, the jury in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial produced 34 guilty verdicts on felony counts. I released a short statement: “The rule of law, which the United States is founded upon, shone bright today. In America, no one is above the law.”
Celebrating $1 Million Job-Training Initiative with Agape Child and Family Services and CodeCrew
On Wednesday, I held a press conference at CodeCrew to highlight the $1 million I secured through the annual appropriations process for Agape Child and Family Services and its partner CodeCrew. The job training initiative the groups have established has already transformed lives, training young people to become accomplished software engineers and – even better – to get high-paying, in-demand 21st century jobs. I want to thank David Jordan, the President and CEO of Agape; Julie Sanon, Chief of Strategy and Innovations Officer at Agape; Brian Wilks, Director of TeamWorks for Agape; Meka Egwuekwe, Co-Founder and Executive Director of CodeCrew; Elizabeth Rhodes, 2022 CodeCrew Code School graduate and software engineer; and John Rucker II, a current CodeCrew Code School student and aspiring software engineer, for participating in an inspiring event.
Expressing Disappointment at Justice Alito’s Refusal to Recuse after Demonstrated Bias
Last week, I introduced a resolution to censure U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito for continuing to hear cases regarding the 2020 election after displaying an upside-down American flag at his home in Virginia, an obvious political statement supporting the “Stop the Steal” insurrectionists of January 6, 2021, and Donald Trump’s misbegotten and false claim that he won in 2020. On Wednesday, I received Justice Alito’s response. His refusal recuse himself from related cases and his claim that the flag, and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag associated with the Christian right flown at his New Jersey beach house, were his wife’s doing, is shameful and misses the point. His continued participation in related cases is a clear violation of the Constitution and laws, and his knowing and flagrant disregard of his ethical obligations raises serious questions about his fitness to serve on the Supreme Court. See my response to his letter here.
Reintroducing the CDBG Equity Act
On Friday, I reintroduced my Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Equity Act to update the outdated CDBG distribution formula and establish a single funding formula for one of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) largest and most effective programs. Memphis is consistently underfunded for CDBG money because of outdated funding formulas that were created in 1974 and 1977. This measure, if passed, would redirect substantially more CDBG funding to cities like Memphis. See my release on the measure here.
Applauding $5.2 Million HUD Retrofit Grant to Wesley Stage Park Senior Living
On Thursday, I attended a HUD event in which a $5,280,000 check from the department’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program was presented to Wesley Stage Park Senior Living. I am a strong and consistent supporter of affordable housing for our senior citizens. This investment will make transformative changes and improve the lives of residents.
Investing Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Funding into Energy Efficiency for Tennessee
I am the only member of the current Tennessee Congressional delegation who voted for the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This week, I announced that the state will receive $2,484,530 of IIJA funds from the U.S. Department of Energy for energy efficiency projects. See my release on the funding here.
Announcing Grants to St. Jude, Le Bonheur Community Health and “Drug Free Tipton”
This week I announced a $277,125 grant to St. Jude Children’s Research Center for work on drug-resistant microbes, a $100,000 grant to Le Bonheur Community Health and Well-Being for developing a coordinated rural health care network and a $50,000 grant to Tipton County for its “Drug Free Tipton” addiction initiative. See my releases on the grants here, here, and here.
The Shelby County Health Department has noted an alarming increase in newly diagnosed cases of HIV in our community. This increase affects people of all ages, but the incidence is highest among young persons aged 14 to 35. Certain zip code areas have much higher STI incidence levels than the county overall. These zip codes include 38103, 38105, 38106, 38107, 38108, 38109, 38114, 38118, 38126, and 38127.
HIV testing is the critical first step in addressing and containing the increasing rates. To increase testing and treatment rates and ultimately reduce the number of new HIV cases, the Shelby County Health Department, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), United Way of Greater Nashville, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is launching an ambitious outreach program to bring testing into the communities where infection rates are highest. We strongly encourage all residents to consider getting tested to “Know Your Status.” See more details and a listing of 14 local testing centers involved in the outreach effort here.
“Ladies and gentlemen, 160 years ago, the first American solider was laid to rest on these hallowed grounds. There were no big ceremonies, no big speeches, no family members to mourn their loss, just the quiet grief of the rolling green hills surrounding them.” – President Biden speaking at a Memorial Day service at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress