Supporting President Obama and Attorney General Holder in Tennessee
Dear friend,
This week, I joined President Obama at the White House and on Air Force One during his trip to Nashville, and each time I invited him to Memphis. In addition, Congress approved $5 million that I secured to help fight our backlog of untested rape kits, and I introduced legislation to close a loophole that prevents us from effectively identifying and addressing fatal police interactions. Keep reading to learn more about what happened this week.
Supporting President Obama and Attorney General Holder in Tennessee
Another Republican Handout to Wall Street
Honoring Al Green at the Kennedy Center
Fighting for Equal Justice And Equal Enforcement of the Law
Remembering Chloe Grauer
My Recommendation for TVA Board Confirmed by Senate
Helping Memphians Get Covered with the Affordable Care Act
Promoting Nutrition with NBA Star Detlef Schrempf
Supporting President Obama and Attorney General Holder in Tennessee
After attending the White House Holiday Party on Monday evening, I was pleased to accept President Obama's invitation to join him on his recent trip to Nashville to discuss the need for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. As he always is, the President was thoughtful, knowledgeable, brilliant, and engaging as he discussed his commonsense moves to address some of the flaws of our nation's immigration system and called on Congress to fix these problems once and for all. I support the President's actions and will continue working in Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
While I was in Nashville with the President, several of my District office staff members joined U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder as he visited our city. While he was in Memphis, the Attorney General visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, spoke at Mayor Wharton's "My Brother's Keeper" Communities Challenge Summit, and hosted a roundtable discussion with law enforcement, local officials, community leaders, students, and faith leaders.
Another Republican Handout to Wall Street
Late last night, the House passed a bill to fund the government next year. While I am pleased that negotiators on both sides of the aisle agreed that funding for Tennessee's hospitals and my $5 million provision to help eliminate our rape kit backlog should be included, I simply could not support the many non-germane riders added. The agreement that passed the House late last night takes from the middle class and the poor and gives to the rich, overturns the D.C. vote on marijuana, and gives billionaires more influence in Washington while letting them take bigger risks on Wall Street. The American people do not want more money in our politics and a return to the Wall Street policies that almost brought the world economy crashing down in 2008.
Honoring Al Green at the Kennedy Center
On Sunday evening, my friend Al Green was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors for his contributions to the arts. I was glad to be there to see the Reverend receive this high honor in front of the President and First Lady, and enjoyed the chance to sing "Love and Happiness" to him. The Kennedy Center Honors will be broadcast on PBS on December 30, if you would like to watch them. Rev. Al Green's Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis will be celebrating its 38th anniversary on Sunday and I am pleased that my Deputy District Director Willie "Hank" Henry will be on hand to present a Congressional Proclamation to celebrate the day.
Fighting for Equal Justice And Equal Enforcement of the Law
This week, I spoke on the House floor about my friendship with baseball All-Star Minnie Minoso, the first African-Latin baseball player in Major League Baseball, and the important lessons he taught me at a young age about race. After seeing Minnie play in Memphis as a child, he became one of my heroes and I followed his career diligently. I was disturbed to learn that whenever Minnie came to Memphis for a game, he had to stay at the segregated Lorraine Motel—the same hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was later shot—while his white teammates stayed at the nearby Peabody Hotel.
By living in Memphis and through the actions of Minnie Minoso, I learned about Jim Crow, the evils of segregation, and the vestiges of slavery that we still see today. We still see it in incarceration rates, arrests, and excessive use of police force.
On Wednesday, I met with representatives from the Ferguson Action Team to discuss how we can work to address these injustices. And yesterday, I introduced legislation to close a loophole in federal law that prevents the adequate collection of comprehensive national data regarding both justified and unjustified fatal interactions with police. Before we can truly address the problem of excessive force used by law enforcement we have to understand the nature of the problem and that begins with accurate data. My bill will help our country begin to honestly assess racial disparities and other problems in our justice system and take steps towards to fix them.
It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that 3-year-old Memphian Chloe Grauer passed away this week. Chloe Grauer suffered from hundreds of debilitating seizures every day and her parents tried numerous available treatments, but none of them worked. One option, however, was denied to her: cannabidiol, or CBD, which is a treatment derived from the marijuana plant that does not produce a high but has significant medical value. The treatment has been shown to work for similar medical conditions and Tennessee law allows for its study, but federal law prohibits it from being imported and made it impossible for the Grauers to secure treatment for Chloe.
I am so sorry for Chloe's parents and grandparents who so lovingly cared for their daughter and granddaughter yet could not save her because outdated federal policies got in the way. I have long worked to relax these restrictions and help the Grauers, including talking to Presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett on Air Force One Tuesday and urging both Governor Haslam and Attorney General Holder to work together to get Chloe the medicine she so desperately needed. I will not forget Chloe, and will continue my efforts to reform our nation's marijuana laws so that no one else is denied this potentially life-saving treatment.
My Recommendation for TVA Board Confirmed by Senate
Earlier this year, after I recommended Ron Walter to President Obama to fill a vacancy on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors, the President nominated him for the position. I was pleased to recommend Ron to the President, as I have known him for nearly 40 years and know of no finer citizen of our community. He is diligent in all things and active and loved in the community for his genuine, caring attitude. This week, his nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and he will now fill one of nine positions on the Board. I know he will do an outstanding job and serve the TVA constituency with good judgment and rectitude, and I am pleased he was confirmed.
Helping Memphians Get Covered with the Affordable Care Act
There are only 3 days left before the December 15th deadline to enroll in health care coverage through HealthCare.gov that will take effect on January 1, 2015.
You can visit https://bit.ly/hcSavings to see if you qualify for tax credits that will be applied as discounts on your monthly insurance premium. If you already have insurance coverage through theHealthCare.gov marketplace, your plan will be automatically renewed for 2015 but you should still visit the newly-redeveloped, more stable, and easier-to-use HealthCare.gov to update your information, ensure you receive the full tax credit to which you are entitled, and review new options as cheaper insurance plans that better fit your needs may now be available.
While the application process at HealthCare.gov has been streamlined and simplified this year, a one-page guide is available here. If you are interested in receiving in-person assistance, Tennessee's health care navigator Seedco will be hosting enrollment sessions at the Ben Hooks Library from 10:30am to 1pm on December 16th and 18th.At each of these sessions, there will be certified health care navigators on site to answer questions you have about the law and assist you in the enrollment process. If you plan to attend one of the enrollment sessions, please call (901) 405-7895 to RSVP.
If you are on Medicare or your employer is offering qualified health insurance that you are enrolled 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 should use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at (800) 318-2596, visit HealthCare.gov, or call Seedco at (866) 720-1711. You can also call my office at (901) 544-4131 or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee's Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you.
Promoting Nutrition with NBA Star Detlef Schrempf
This week I was pleased to welcome back to Washington Linda Cornish, a fellow Memphian, and former NBA All-Star Detlef Schrempf. The two were on Capitol Hill to highlight the Seafood Nutrition Partnership, a group who works to improve Americans' health through partnerships that raise awareness about the nutritional benefits of seafood, which can include lowered risk of heart disease and improved eyesight in adults, as well as improved brain health in infants. I was pleased to learn earlier this year that the Seafood Nutrition Partnership had chosen Memphis, along with Boston and Indianapolis, as one of three cities in which to launch its inaugural interactive pilot program, and enjoyed the opportunity to learn of their progress in promoting healthy eating.
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress