Applauding House Passage of the Russell B. Sugarmon Post Office Bill
Dear Friend,
This week, I hailed the House passage of my the bill to name the post office on Autumn Avenue for Civil Rights champion Judge Russell B. Sugarmon. I also introduced the School Bus Safety Act, expressed my support for expanding Social Security, wrote a letter to Senator Alexander to request his help in gaining Senate passage of the my bill to address human trafficking, met with Russian dissident Marina Litvinenko, announced $1.9 million in medical research grants, received a perfect score from Common Cause on a Congressional Legislative Scorecard, remembered civic booster Bud Chittom, offered best wishes to some St. Jude newlyweds, planned to host military academy applicants, scheduled my next "Congress On Your Corner," and offered a health tip. Keep reading to learn more about my week and follow me on Twitter and Facebook to see more updates as they happen.
Applauding House Passage of the Russell B. Sugarmon Post Office Bill
Introducing the School Bus Safety Act
Supporting Social Security Expansion
Writing to Senator Alexander to Request Senate Action on SOAR Act
Meeting with Russian dictator Putin critic Marina Litvinenko
Announcing $1.9 million in Medical Research Grants to Memphis
Receiving Perfect Score from on Common Cause's 2018 Legislative Scorecard
Speaking at MIFA's Legacy Day Event
Remembering Gerald M. "Bud" Chittom
Tipping My Hat to Some St. Jude Newlyweds
Hosting Military Service Academy-Senior ROTC Day
Scheduling My Next "Congress on Your Corner"
Signing Up for "Congress On Your Corner" and this e-Newsletter
Weekly Health Tip
Quote of the Week
Applauding House Passage of the Russell B. Sugarmon Post Office Bill
On Thursday, the House passed my bill to name the post office at 1320 Autumn Avenue for Judge Russell B. Sugarman Jr., the Civil Rights leader, attorney and judge. No one deserves this honor more than Judge Sugarmon, whose lifetime achievements include being the first African-American to run for a major city office in 1959 and the second African-American elected to the Tennessee General Assembly after Reconstruction in 1966. Before becoming a judge in 1987, he practiced with Memphis' and the South's first integrated law firm – Ratner, Sugarmon, Lucas, Willis and Caldwell – after attending Morehouse College and Rutgers University and receiving a law degree from Harvard University. Working alongside Vasco and Maxine Smith, Jesse Turner and other NAACP leaders in the fight for racial justice and equality, Judge Sugarmon was instrumental in using the courts to desegregate public transportation, restaurants, public facilities and the Memphis public schools. I look forward to Senate action on the designation.
Introducing School Bus Safety Act
As students across the U.S. return to school for the beginning of the new school year, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) and I introduced the School Bus Safety Act(H.R. 6773) on Wednesday to help keep students safe as they travel to and from school while also helping prevent accidents involving school buses. The legislation would implement safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) by ensuring there are seat belts at every seat and that buses are equipped with safety measures like automatic stability control and automatic emergency braking systems. The bill would also create a grant program to help school districts modify school buses to meet these important safety goals. There's no more precious cargo than school-aged children entrusted by their parents for a ride to school to earn an education. The common sense measures called for in this legislation will save young lives. We've seen enough deaths in school bus accidents in Tennessee and elsewhere. It is past time we act to save young lives.
Supporting Social Security Expansion
On Wednesday, I spoke out for Social Security as an original member of the Expand Social Security Caucus. I expressed my support for this critical safety net program that helps 116,000 people in Shelby County. It is one of our most successful anti-poverty programs and helps many senior citizens and disabled workers. I've always been committed to the New Deal Era program signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt. I'm working to expand and enhance the benefits of a program you have paid into and have earned and will fight ongoing efforts to cut benefits and limit eligibility. See a video of my remarks here.
Writing to Senator Alexander to request Senate Action on SOAR Act
On Friday, I joined my bipartisan Tennessee Congressional delegation colleagues Scott DesJarlais, Jimmy Duncan and Jim Cooper in asking Senator Lamar Alexander, the Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, to have the committee consider and approve the Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act already passed earlier this year by the House. The legislation addresses the crime of human trafficking by providing training to health professionals at all points of service delivery, including clinics and emergency rooms, to recognize signs of human trafficking in the patients they see. The SOAR Act took shape after I participated in a discussion about human trafficking at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis in 2016 that brought together first responders, faith-based groups, educators, and health care workers. I look forward to swift Senate passage of the measure.
Meeting with Russian dictator Putin critic Marina Litvinenko
Congressman Cohen with Marina Litvinenko and Alex Goldfarb
On Thursday, I met with Marina Litvinenko, widow of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London in 2006 after drinking tea laced with polonium-210, a radioactive substance that was traced back to Russia. A United Kingdom public inquiry concluded that Litvinenko was probably murdered on the personal orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mrs. Litvinenko and I discussed her husband's case, for which no one has yet been held accountable, and we also discussed the March 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. An English woman who came in contact with the Novichok bottle in June died and UK authorities have identified and charged, in absentia, two men believed to be Russian intelligence officers. The talk then turned to this week's suspected poisoning of Pussy Riot activist Pyotr Verzilov. In the past, I have often spoken out against Putin's actions against the punk rock band whose members he has jailed for daring to protest against his regime. Russian intelligence agencies' long reach to find and harm Russian defectors and Kremlin critics in other countries has the U.S. scrambling to protect those living in America, according to an article in The New York Times this week. We also discussed Russian aggression around the world and potential U.S. sanctions against Russia.
Announcing $1.9 million in Medical Research Grants to Memphis
This week, my office was notified of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and to St. Jude Children's Research Center totaling more than $1.9 million. UTHSC will receive a total of $842,069 ($500,069 for research on neurological disorders and $342,000 for research on drug addiction). St. Jude will receive $1,111,740 ($460,489 for research into the biology of deafness and $651,251 for research in genome editing). These Memphis institutions are at the forefront of medical research worldwide and I'm pleased they are receiving this critical federal funding for their ongoing, life-saving work.
Receiving Perfect Score from on Common Cause's 2018 Legislative Scorecard
On Wednesday, I learned that I have received a 100 percent score from the government watchdog group Common Cause after it assessed 15 Congressional measures involving money in politics, voting rights, net neutrality, overturning the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, presidential conflicts of interest and abuse of power, and redistricting reform. See the scorecard here. I was one of just 31 members to receive a perfect score and the only member to do so from Tennessee. I'm a proud co-sponsor of all 15 measures highlighted in Common Cause's 2018 Democratic Scorecard. I'll continue to fight for protecting and expanding the Voting Rights Act, for fairness in campaign finance and elections, for Net Neutrality, for ethics and integrity at the White House and in Congress, and for the protection of our Constitution and democracy.
Speaking at MIFA's Legacy Day Event
On Friday, I celebrated the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association's (MIFA) 50thanniversary Legacy Day. I said MIFA is the most important institution in Memphis today born out of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., through the courage and visionary leadership of Memphis clergymen like Rabbi James Wax, the Reverend Frank McRae and Father Nicholas Vieron. I also praised the volunteers for Meals on Wheels who do a good deed by delivering food to seniors, low-income and disabled individuals. While the program provides nutrition to the poor, it also dispenses care and concern for recipients and provides the volunteers a window into the racial, gender and income inequalities in our community. I want to congratulate this important institution championing social justice on reaching its Jubilee Year.
Remembering Gerald M. "Bud" Chittom
On Sunday evening, I attended the overflowing visitation for Bud Chittom with his many friends and admirers and, on Monday, I was honored to speak at his funeral. Bud was one of a kind, a longtime restaurant and club owner manager, musician and Memphis booster whose unique character is captured in the quote adorning his 2011 Brass Note on Beale Street: "A Man You Don't Meet Everyday." Bud was the force behind the Blues City Café on Beale, Club 616, Earnestine and Hazel's, Hunt Phelan House, The Ritz Club, Side Street Grill and a host of others. He was an entrepreneur of exceptional abilities who rose in one generation, as he put it, from the head of a hoe to being one of the most successful restaurateurs and night club owners in Memphis. Bud was quietly generous to many in Memphis. He will be missed.
Tipping My Hat to Some St. Jude Newlyweds
I read about the recent wedding at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital of two former childhood cancer patients who met at the hospital in 1993 and later became co-workers at the renowned institution. Lindsey Wilkerson and Joel Alsop, now healthy, were married September 1st at the gold-domed Danny Thomas/ALSAC Pavilion on the St. Jude campus. The date was no coincidence: September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I wish the newlyweds every happiness.
Hosting Military Service Academy-Senior ROTC Day
On Saturday, September 29, I will host the annual Military Service Academy-Senior Reserve Officer Training Day at Crosstown High School, 1365 Tower Avenue, from 9 a.m. to noon. Appointments to one of the five military service academies – for the Navy, Air Force, Army, Merchant Marines or Coast Guard -- are life-changing events and lead to preparation of future military officers. Chosen students get an excellent education and a ticket to a bright future. I look forward to seeing some aspiring applicants at the Crosstown Concourse. The high school is on the fourth floor. For more information, contact Jeremy Jordan in my Memphis office at (901) 544-4131 or Jeremy.Jordan@mail.house.gov
Scheduling My Next "Congress On Your Corner"
As your representative in Congress, part of my job is making sure your concerns and issues with federal agencies and federal benefits are dealt with fairly and efficiently. My office is here to help you navigate what can be a complex and confusing process. My next "Congress On Your Corner" will be on Friday, September 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Cordova Branch Library, 8457 Trinity Road. My staff will be on hand to help you.
Signing Up for "Congress On Your Corner" and this e-Newsletter
I enjoy meeting regularly with constituents in the district and helping get answers for them to questions about dealing with federal agencies. If you are interested in attending one of my "Congress on Your Corner" events, you can sign up here to receive notification as soon as the next event is scheduled.
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Weekly Health Tip
Each week, I share a health tip in the hope of promoting a healthy lifestyle for residents of the 9th Congressional District. As always, it is best to check with your doctor before making any changes to your diet, exercise routine or lifestyle.
This week, partly to honor the newlyweds mentioned above and to underline the importance of medical research grants to St. Jude, I offer useful information from the National Cancer Institute on childhood cancers. In 2017, more than 10,200 new cases of childhood cancers were diagnosed in the United States but research should help reduce those numbers.
Quote of the Week
"We had a choice, while the teachers were teaching some grade other than the one we were in: we could either take a nap, sit there and be quiet, or read. And she had a nice library, so, we all came out of there loving to read. Books opened up access to other times, and other places. I mean, you could visualize, and read about the world." – Russell B. Sugarmon, describing Mrs. Smith's elementary school class for The History Makers (2017)
As always, I remain,
Most Sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress