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Seeking Answers in the Death of Darrius Stewart

July 24, 2015
Enewsletters

Dear Friend,

Next Thursday, I will host a telephone town hall meeting that you can sign up for here.

This week, I asked the Department of Justice for help in answering the serious questions raised by the shooting of Darrius Stewart, led the Tennessee House Congressional Delegation along with Congressman DesJarlais in a bipartisan bill to help our servicemen and women protect themselves, announced $1.7 million for St. Jude, and sat down with PBS NewsHour to discuss how Tennessee Promise hurts low-income, high-achieving students. Keep reading to learn more about what happened this week, and don’t forget to like my Facebook page to receive these updates, and more, as they happen.

Seeking Answers in the Death of Darrius Stewart
Please Join My Telephone Town Hall Meeting Next Thursday
Helping Protect our Servicemen and Women
Bringing Congress to your Corner
Fighting for the HOPE Scholarship
Meeting Young Memphians
Grants for Pediatric Cancer Survivors at St. Jude
Protecting Consumers and Helping Our Economy Grow

Seeking Answers in the Death of Darrius Stewart

The shooting of Darrius Stewart by a Memphis police officer raises serious questions that must be answered. While I appreciate that the local prosecutor has referred this case for an independent investigation (as I have proposed should happen in all cases where use of police force results in death) any prosecution stemming from Mr. Stewart’s death should be carried out by an independent prosecutor as well.

As a matter of policy in this country the decisions to investigate and, if need be, prosecute police use of deadly force should not be placed in the hands of local prosecutors who rely on a strong working relationship with those same officers. This week, I reached out to Attorney General Loretta Lynch to ask for the help of the Department of Justice to determine whether any civil rights have been violated and I will continue to keep a close watch on the situation.

Please Join My Telephone Town Hall Meeting Next Thursday

At 3pm next Thursday, July 30th, I will host a telephone town hall meeting to discuss several issues with the citizens of the Ninth District. If you would like to participate in the telephone town hall, please fill out this form by Tuesday, July 28th, and we will call you when the meeting begins.

Helping Protect our Servicemen and Women

After I discussed last week’s attack in Chattanooga on MSNBC’s The Ed Show, I joined Congressman Scott DesJarlais in leading the entire Tennessee House Congressional Delegation on a bipartisan bill to help our servicemen and women protect themselves. Our legislation would lift restrictions on well-trained, authorized servicemen and women carrying military-issued firearms at recruiting centers and on military bases.

Those who volunteer to protect Americans abroad should not be prevented from protecting themselves when they return home. We know our military facilities and recruitment centers are targets, and the five victims of last week’s attack in Chattanooga are sad evidence that more must be done to keep them safe. I look forward to working with the united Tennessee House Delegation to ensure we aren’t unnecessarily putting our servicemen and women in harm’s way.

Bringing Congress to your Corner

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On Friday, August 7th, my office will hold “Congress on your Corner” office hours from 10am to 1pm at the Benjamin L. Hooks Library. If you have questions or problems with Social Security, Medicare, FHA, the VA or any other federal agencies, my staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide assistance. We hope to see you there.

Fighting for the HOPE Scholarship

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Yesterday, I sat down for an interview with PBS NewsHour to discuss why Tennessee Promise hurts low-income, high-achieving students throughout our state. The interview will air in August--I'll let you know as soon as the date is announced.

Meeting Young Memphians

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I enjoyed meeting with teens from Camp Hope on Monday along with the camp’s founder, Justin Pearson, who is a former intern from my office. Camp Hope is a summer enrichment program for Memphis-area teens that aims to create community through service focused on social advocacy, college access, and global citizenship.

Grants for Pediatric Cancer Survivors at St. Jude

This morning, I was pleased to announce more than $1.7 million for pediatric cancer survivors participating in the St. Jude Life study, which aims to help us understand how early-life illnesses can affect us as we grow.

We should not only study the effects of cancer and cancer treatment on the human body during treatment but in the years that follow as well. Doing so can help identify treatments and behaviors that lead to the best outcomes for survivors. These new federal funds will give St. Jude’s doctors and scientists the resources they need to continue this important study.

Protecting Consumers and Helping Our Economy Grow

This week marked the 5 year anniversary of President Obama signing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to better protect American’s savings and retirement accounts, curb predatory lending, assist consumers who have fallen victim to deceptive financial practices with the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and help prevent another financial crisis like that of 2008.

In the five years since its adoption, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has grown from roughly 10,000 to almost 18,000 today and our nation’s economy has added 12 million new jobs. With such evidence, it’s hard to understand why Congressional Republicans continue their efforts to dismantle a law that is helping grow our economy and make it work for everyone, not just the wealthiest among us. I hope that this year, we can move forward as a nation and let effective consumer protection laws like Wall Street Reform work.

As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
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Steve Cohen
Member of Congress

Issues:9th DistrictEconomy and JobsEducationGovernment ReformHealth CareHomeland SecurityJudiciaryMemphisScience and TechnologyTennessee