Promoting Memphis to the President's Administration
Dear Friend,
This week, two members of President Obama’s Cabinet joined me in Memphis, the Grizzlies took control of their playoff series against Oklahoma City, I announced an $8 million contract to help St. Jude, and I congratulated four impressive young Memphians who will attend U.S. Military Service Academies this fall. Keep reading to learn more.
Promoting Memphis to the President’s Administration
Join My Telephone Town Hall on Wednesday, April 30th
Closing the Educational Achievement Gap
Helping St. Jude
Congratulating Newly-Accepted Military Service Academy Students
Fighting to Prevent Discrimination in Education
Bringing Justice to the Unfairly Incarcerated
Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property
Helping Veterans Find Jobs
Promoting Memphis to the President’s Administration
This afternoon, I welcomed two members of President Obama’s Cabinet—Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy—to Memphis and helped highlight how federal support through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities is benefiting our city and growing our economy. Regional Administrator of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ed Jennings also joined us, subbing in for HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan who encountered travel problems but had planned on being there with us as well. During their visit, Mayor Wharton and I showed how more than $130 million in investments around Shelby County is helping everything from FedEx to the Broad Avenue business corridor and from the Legends Park West housing development to the bike and pedestrian path over Harahan Bridge, which is part of the Main2Main project. I enjoyed this chance to promote Memphis, our economy, and the importance of HOPE VI, the Choice Neighborhoods program and the Promise Zone initiative directly to senior members of the President’s Administration, and I will continue to fight for our city.
Join My Telephone Town Hall on Wednesday, April 30th
Next Wednesday evening at 6:10PMCT I will host a telephone town hall to answer your questions and discuss a variety of topics including my recent “Building a Healthier Memphis” wellness event that focused on reducing the rising number of diabetes diagnoses in our city. If you would like to participate in this telephone town hall on Wednesday, April 30th, please fill out the form here with your home phone number before Sunday evening – unfortunately, we are unable to call cell phones.
Closing the Educational Achievement Gap
I was pleased to join Dr. Ivory Toldson, the Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, this week at several events at LeMoyne-Owen College to discuss the next steps forward in closing the minority student achievement gap in our nation’s education system. Too many of our young people are trapped in failing schools with too few resources dedicated to low-income and minority students. While the gap has been closing in Tennessee schools over the last few years, our state is still behind the national average—so we have to do more. The President’s new “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative is an important step forward, and I will do everything I can to help it succeed in its goal of educating every boy and young man of color so that we can finally close the achievement gap once and for all.
Yesterday, I announced that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was awarded an $8 million, seven-year contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, to support the Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) at St. Jude, one of only 5 such centers in the nation.
Even today, flu infections are still a leading cause of illness and death around the world. During an average flu season in the United States, the virus is linked to approximately 36,000 deaths and 114,000 hospitalizations. The CEIRS at St. Jude will help support an international flu surveillance network focused on wild birds and domestic animals. Birds are widely considered to be a source of the flu and new pandemic viruses. The funding provided through this contract will help one of our city’s world-class health care institutions, St. Jude, conduct important work that could prevent flu outbreaks and save lives around the world.
Congratulating Newly-Accepted Military Service Academy Students
Yesterday morning, I hosted a reception at my office in the Clifford Davis/Odell Horton Federal Building to congratulate four Ninth District students who have been accepted to attend United States Military Service Academies. Three of the students, Grayson Michael Harber of Germantown High School, Ciarra Simone Robinson of Millington Central High School, and Minh Nhat Vuong of Cordova High School, will attend the U.S. Air Force Academy this fall, and Kristin Chanelle Williams of White Station High School will attend West Point.
I truly enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with Ciarra, Grayson, Kristin, and Minh this week. Each of them was accompanied by proud parents who have worked closely with their children to instill the value of academics and discipline. These students’ hard work in school and dedication to their country should serve as an inspiration to us all. I wish them all the best of luck in their future endeavors, and I am confident they will make Memphis and the entire Ninth District proud.
Fighting to Prevent Discrimination in Education
On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court decided to uphold Michigan Proposal 2, which reopens the door for discrimination in public education by prohibiting affirmative action in the admission process. From making discrimination in voting easier to pushing high-quality educations further out of the reach of minorities, the Supreme Court’s slow but steady erosion of the basic rights that every American should expect marks a difficult and dark chapter in our nation’s history.
I agree with Justice Sotomayor who, in her dissenting opinion, wrote that judges “ought not sit back and wish away, rather than confront, the racial inequality that exists in our society.” We have fought for too long to protect these rights, and we must not give them up without a fight. As the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, I will do all that I can to protect the progress we’ve made in securing the civil rights of every American.
Bringing Justice to the Unfairly Incarcerated
This week, President Obama’s Administration announced it will use new, more expansive criteria in considering requests for executive clemency. The announcement is an important step towards bringing justice to hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans still serving time in prison under unjust sentences that would not be ordered today and that have been repudiated by Congress and the President.
From my first day in Congress, advocating for fairer sentencing laws and realistically examining sentencing disparities has been a centerpiece of my legislative agenda. After years of advocating on behalf of Americans who are unfairly incarcerated, the policies that I’ve encouraged the President and the Attorney General to adopt are now being implemented. I am very encouraged by the prospect that these new clemency criteria will give deserving non-violent drug offenders a second chance at freedom, improve our justice system, and save taxpayers money. President Obama can and should use his Constitutional power to help bring all of these inmates the justice they deserve, and I hope he does so as soon as possible.
In addition to announcing new clemency criteria, the Administration also announced that Deborah Leff, the Acting Senior Counselor for Access to Justice at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), will replace Ronald Rodgers as the head of the DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. I am glad that the Administration is replacing an attorney who has been admonished for misrepresenting critical information to the President with someone who has committed her career to providing Americans equal access to the justice they deserve. I wish Deborah Leff good luck in her new role, and hope that her office quickly begins to fulfill its mission of restoring liberty to those whose debt to society has long since been paid.
Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property
The State of Tennessee maintains a searchable database of unclaimed property, which can include bank accounts, stocks and dividends, wages, refunds, insurance payments, gift certificates, credit balances and overpayments, and a number of other things. There is no cost for accessing the database, and you may find that you are owed money or property. If you have not searched the database yet or if you haven’t searched in a while, you can visit https://www.claimittn.gov and see for yourself whether the state is holding any property or assets for you. And you may pass this information along to your friends and family as well!
This week, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden announced the launch of a new integrated employment tool to connect veterans and service members with employers, and to help translate military skills into the civilian workforce. The Veterans Employment Center, an integrated, online tool connecting veterans, transitioning service members and their spouses with both public and private-sector employers, is the result of an interagency effort to improve, simplify and consolidate the current array of employment resources for veterans. Additionally, this will provide one comprehensive database of resumes for employers who are seeking to leverage the skills and talents of veterans, service members, and their spouses. A video tutorial on how to use the Veterans Employment Center can be viewed here.
Let’s go Grizz!
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress