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Remember to Get Covered by December 23rd

December 19, 2013
Enewsletters

Dear Friend,

I’m glad to be home in Memphis for the holidays after a long and frustrating year in Congress. I hope that you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season. Keep reading to learn what else happened this week.

Honoring the Late Nelson Mandela
Helping Memphians Get Covered by December 23rd
Extending Coverage to Those Most in Need
Opposing Telephone Calls on Airplanes
Senator Elizabeth Warren Joins My Effort to Ensure All Job Seekers Are Treated Fairly
Reining In the FISA Court and NSA Surveillance
2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available
White House Internships
Grant Announcements

Honoring the Late Nelson Mandela

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In the last week, I attended a memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela at the R.S. Lewis and Sons Funeral Home—the same funeral home where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s body was taken for public viewing in April of 1968. At the memorial service this week, I signed the guest book and reflected on his great spirit and accomplishments. I will make sure that the guest book gets to the Mandela family in South Africa.

Helping Memphians Get Covered by December 23rd

All Memphians should have quality health coverage and the President’s landmark Affordable Care Act—also known as Obamacare—is making affordable, higher-quality coverage available to people who have not had access to it in the past. Luckily, many who have been unable to afford quality coverage in the past are now eligible to enroll in Tennessee’s Health Insurance Marketplace, though the deadline to enroll for coverage that starts on January 1st is just 4 days away. If you do not have health insurance coverage, you may also be eligible to save money on your health care premiums in the Marketplace.

If you are on Medicare or your employer is going to offer qualified health insurance next year that you will enroll in, you’re already covered and won’t need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren’t sure whether or not you will need to use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit www.HealthCare.gov. You can also call my office or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee’s Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you. If you are one of the millions of Americans who need health insurance, you can sign up for coverage that will take effect January 1, 2014 until December 23, 2013. Enrollment in the marketplace will remain open until March 31, 2014 if you miss the deadline for coverage starting in January. Visit www.healthcare.gov today to look at your options.

The Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District and the recent government shutdown didn’t change that. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 147,000 individuals in the district now have health insurance that covers preventive services without co-pays, $3.1 million in insurance premiums have been returned to consumers, and more than 5,000 seniors on Medicare paid a total of $5.9 million less for their prescription medications as we continue to close the ‘donut hole.’ Also, health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and young adults up to age 26 can now stay on their parents’ insurance plan.

Many of the Marketplace website issues that have been in the news recently have been resolved. However, the Marketplace website is only one tool that you can use to sign up for coverage. If you are having trouble accessing the website, please do not hesitate to call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or attend one of Seedco Mid-South’s enrollment events for in-person help. Seedco’s Navigators will be at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library today and tomorrow to help provide information and assist with in-person enrollment in Marketplace health insurance options. They will be in the library’s Meeting Room B from 4:00 – 6:30 PM tonight (Thursday), in Meeting Room A from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM tomorrow (Friday), and Room L-56 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM tomorrow (Friday). You do not need to preregister to attend any of these sessions. If you cannot make any of these sessions, you can also visit the Seedco Mid-South office at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900), and they can be reached by phone at 901-528-8341. If you have any other questions, you should also feel free to call my office at 901-544-4131.

Extending Coverage to Those Most in Need

While the technical problems with the health insurance Marketplace’s website are largely resolved, a political problem with another important tool to help people access health care remains: TennCare has not been expanded to include everyone that the Affordable Care Act allows it to include. And sadly, our governor has failed to expand it—making health insurance completely unattainable for some of the most vulnerable Tennesseans. This week, I wrote a column in the Commercial Appeal about why we must expand TennCare. You can read it here.

Opposing Telephone Calls on Airplanes

Yesterday, I led a bipartisan group of 15 Members of Congress in urging the FAA to keep the ban on in-flight calls in place. I, along with my Congressional colleagues, share the concerns of the flying public and the many professionals in the aviation industry that such a change to the current rules disallowing the use of cell phone voice networks could result in not only a markedly less pleasant flying experience, but a less safe one as well.

Allowing passengers to make phone calls while in flight would disrupt the right of consumers to enjoy the quiet comfort of their flight. Simply put, the flying experience in the United States would be forever changed for the worse if voice calls are allowed on flights. I hope that the FAA considers our concerns and makes the right decision.

Senator Elizabeth Warren Joins My Effort to Ensure All Job Seekers Are Treated Fairly

Using a job applicant’s credit history to deny employment is not fair because personal credit history is not an accurate predictor of job performance. And worse still, without a job the chances of improving one’s credit rating can be significantly diminished, meaning that using credit ratings to deny employment only perpetuates these cyclical problems. According to TransUnion, Greater Memphis residents have among the lowest average credit ratings in America.

My Equal Employment for All Act would help those with less-than-stellar credit reports by prohibiting employers from using consumer credit checks and bankruptcy filings in the hiring or firing processes. This week, my bill got a big boost when U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced it in the Senate. Having Senator Warren and other consumer champions like her on our side is great news. I look forward to working with her in the coming session of Congress to pass this important bill that will help Americans who are looking for work.

Reining In the FISA Court and NSA Surveillance

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This week, a federal judge originally appointed by President George W. Bush ruled that some of the methods used by the National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on American citizens were likely unconstitutional. On Monday night, I spoke with Chris Hayes on MSNBC about some of the ways we can help protect our rights—including my bill to change how members of the FISA court, which oversees the NSA, are appointed. You can watch my interview with Chris here.

2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available

My office currently has a limited number of 2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive next year’s calendar, please complete this short form on my website Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessee’s Ninth District. Please feel free to share this email with other citizens of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.

White House Internships

The White House Internship Program is currently accepting applications from young people who are interested in government and devoted to public service. If you—or anyone you know— would like to spend some time working at the White House, gaining valuable professional experience and building leadership skills, I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to apply. The application deadline is January 5th, 2014. Click here for more information.

Grant Announcements

I regularly release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others. These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the 9th District. The announcements are updated regularly on my website.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

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Steve Cohen
Member of Congress

Issues:9th DistrictChildren and FamiliesDefenseHealth CareHomeland SecurityMemphisScience and TechnologyTransportation