In the News

Nine members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation Thursday sent a letter to Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Marilyn Tavenner requesting an extension of TennCare’s waiver approval from earlier this year. Because Tennessee does not receive funding through the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital program that every other state participates in, the lawmakers are requesting continuing funds to support Tennessee hospitals that help tens of thousands of low-income patients receive medical coverage they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) has introduced legislation requiring the Justice Department to collect data on how many people are killed by police officers.

Reliable data on police shootings due to "excessive force" is not available because the Justice Department doesn't maintain a comprehensive record. The lack of such information has come to light after the high-profile deaths of African-American men by white police officers in Ferguson, Mo., Staten Island, N.Y. and other cities in recent months.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Ron Walter, WREG’s president and general manager, will fill one of nine positions on the TVA Board of Directors.

The U.S. Senate approved Wednesday Congressman Steve Cohen’s recommendation by a vote of 86 to 12.

“I was pleased to recommend Ron Walter to President Obama, as I have known Ron for nearly 40 years and know of no finer citizen of our community,” Cohen said. “He is diligent in all things, active and well-loved in the community for his genuine, caring attitude.”

A group of democratic Congressmen wrote a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan Tuesday urging him to "carefully scrutinize" the proposed sale of for profit college behemoth Corinthian Colleges to a student loan debt collector with a troubled record. The debt collector, ECMC, has been criticized widely for hounding bankrupt students in court and using extreme arguments to deny borrowers any relief on their loans.

The grand jury’s decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, was bitterly disappointing to many whose fervent hope is to see all Americans treated with dignity and equality under our laws. Brown’s death is a tragedy that cannot be denied. His devastated family understandably feels they did not receive justice.

As Americans gather at their Thanksgiving table this month and join in the annual Black Friday sales, there are thousands of people who will be left out of this holiday cheer. They are far away from their families, serving lengthy sentences for non-violent, and often minor, offenses. Even though they pose no danger to the public, and taxpayers spend as much as $30,000 a year to incarcerate them, they remain in prison because of an antiquated sentencing system, with little hope of release anytime soon. That is, unless the President commutes their sentences.

To say Congressman Steve Cohen is unenthusiastic about the Tennessee Promise is an understatement.

“The people who mostly benefit from (Gov. Bill Haslam’s) plan are people who didn’t make the grades in high school and are higher than the average income,” Cohen says.

“That’s not exactly who you should be looking to benefit in society, the low-achievers and the affluent.

“I think it’s just a total sham.”

Construction began Monday on the more than $17.5 million project to add a bicycle and pedestrian pathway across the Harahan Bridge.

The Harahan Bridge project is part of the $43 million Main Street to Main Street Multi-Modal Connector project. That 10-mile project will link Downtown Memphis with West Memphis, Arkansas with more walkable and bike-able streets, pathways, and trails.