Press Releases

The funding was included in S. 1793, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act that passed the House of Representatives today by a vote of 408-9.

The House Judiciary Committee, on which Congressman Cohen serves, passed H.R. 3596, the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act, which would repeal the antiquated federal antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies that engage in price-fixing and other collusive activity. The legislation would subject health insurers and medical malpractice insurers to the same good-competition laws that apply to virtually every other company doing business in the United States.

This afternoon, the House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriation Bill, which included the Congressman’s seismic study fund request and his proposal to increase national funding for Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) Nonprofit Security Grants – federal funding that provides local communities with support to increase security at nonprofit organizations, such as hospitals and national landmarks, that are considered to be at high risk for terrorist attacks.

“This is welcome news and I commend President Obama for proposing this additional financial relief to our nation’s seniors, veterans and people with disabilities. Earlier this year, I was proud to vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that provided 98,000 people in the Ninth District with a similar $250 payment. This kind of temporary, targeted and timely payment is going to help people make ends meet,” Congressman Cohen said.

“I’m pleased to know that the Federal Railroad Administration is committed to undertaking this feasibility study next year. As added insurance, I pushed to include additional funding in next year’s transportation budget to ensure that there will be no further delay,” Congressman Cohen said. “Memphis is the transportation hub of the nation. We’re home to the largest cargo airline, highways, rail yards, the Mississippi River, but we don’t have high speed rail.

The Cohen Amendment addresses current law which limits who can be designated by a service member to oversee the disposition of remains to a spouse, blood relative, or adoptive parent. Cohen’s language would require the Pentagon to initiate a study to examine the effects of expanding the current statute to allow other people, including foster parents, friends or fellow soldiers to be designated.

H.R. 1478, the Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act of 2009, would overturn a Supreme Court ruling that excludes service members injured or killed as a result of military medical malpractice from seeking justice. In 1950, the Supreme Court ruled that active duty service members were excluded from the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows persons to sue the federal government for damages. That decision established what is now known as the “Feres Doctrine.”

This afternoon the House of Representatives passed a joint Senate-House compromise to HR 3183, the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Act. The bill contains $1,369,000 for the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the mouth of Memphis Harbor (McKellar Lake) and $354,000 for Wolf River Harbor maintenance. The measure also includes $500,000 for the University of Memphis to invest in the use of biofuel micro-refineries that will use biomass and other waste to generate sustainable energy.