Press Releases
“Help is on the way for homeowners in the 9th District in areas trying to recover from the effects of foreclosure and declining property values,” said Congressman Cohen. “With the assistance of state and local government, this money will be put to work immediately in communities and neighborhoods in Memphis and Shelby County with the greatest need. This housing crisis is affecting every sector of our economy, and this money will go a long way toward helping to stop the bleeding in the most vulnerable neighborhoods.”
This is the deadline for the estimated 4.3 million retirees and disabled veterans who may be eligible to receive a stimulus payment but who normally don’t file a tax return. In Tennessee, the IRS has identified 91,927 recipients of Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits who appear to qualify for a stimulus payment but still have not filed for one. They must file a tax return by the deadline to get a payment this year.
It’s also the deadline for the approximately 162,000 Tennesseans who earlier this year received extensions to file their 2007 income tax return.
Washington, DC – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today welcomed Sen. Barack Obama's call to increase the Federal Depositors Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance limits from $100,000 to $250,000 and urged his House colleagues to support it.
“It doesn’t make any sense that a charity driver would get only 14 cents back per mile when a delivery driver for a for-profit business gets almost 60 cents back,” Alexander said. “After meeting with MIFA, Congressman Cohen and I have decided to fix this discrepancy. Tennesseans are struggling enough with high gas prices to have to worry about losing money for volunteering for charities. This legislation is a no-brainer, and I hope that Congress will act quickly to pass it.”
The bill is designed to address the phenomenon known as “libel tourism,” or the exploitation of defamation laws in foreign countries that lack the broad protections of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment in the United States.
H. R. 2638 includes a $1.6 million appropriation for the University of Memphis, requested by Congressman Cohen in a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton on March 13, 2008. The university will use these funds to develop a battlefield nursing program utilizing enhanced, state of the art procedures, techniques and equipment to train U.S. nursing students.
This funding will be used to develop a new trauma hemostat, a surgical tool used to manage blood loss. Smith & Nephew has developed trauma hemostat prototypes which are now ready for laboratory and field testing.
Today, I was proud to vote with an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the House to pass legislation that will make key investments to move our country forward and fund critical government services upon which the American people rely.
The bill provides almost $23 billion in federal disaster assistance in response to recent hurricanes in Texas, Midwestern flooding and tornadoes and wildfires in the West. Additionally, this legislation will provide immediate assistance to millions of Americans with home heating bills this winter.
The people of Memphis and Shelby County are feeling the effects of the economic downturn, and middle income families are struggling to make house payments, fill up their gas tanks and pay for the skyrocketing costs of food and higher education. I am very pleased that the AMT Relief Act will ensure that families are not forced to pay higher taxes under the Alternative Minimum Tax.