Presiding at Historic Hearing on Reparations for Slavery
June 21, 2019 | |
Dear Friend, This week, I presided over a historic hearing in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on reparations for slavery and Jim Crow discrimination. I also voted for and saw passage of my amendment to the State Department and Foreign Operations spending bill that would prevent federal taxpayer dollars being spent at Trump-owned businesses; supported a bill to prevent robocalls; questioned former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; questioned election law and Russian intelligence experts about the conclusions in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report; congratulated St. Jude scientist Martine Roussel on her election to the National Academy of Sciences; announced three major grants to Memphis educational institutions; reminded constituents of next week's "Congress On Your Corner" event; introduced a bill to provide relief to National Guard and Reservists; and offered a vision care tip. Keep reading to learn more about my week and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see more updates as they happen. Presiding at Historic Hearing on Reparations for Slavery Presiding at Historic Hearing on Reparations for Slavery
On Wednesday, as Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, I presided over the first hearing in decades on reparations for slavery and Jim Crow. This issue has been a passion throughout my career. The hearing witnesses were well-known and knowledgeable. See my release on the hearing here. Voting for and Passing My Amendment Prohibiting Spending at Trump Businesses Last week, I spoke on the House floor in favor of an amendment to a spending bill funding the State Department and Foreign Operations that would prohibit federal taxpayer dollars being spent at Trump-owned businesses. On Tuesday, the measure passed the House. See my release here. Supporting Efforts to Stop Robocalls
Questioning former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks On Wednesday, former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, who was also a close advisor to candidate Trump in 2016, appeared before the House Judiciary Committee behind closed doors. I questioned her about Trump campaign officials' contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and whether adoptions or lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs was the true subject of the infamous June 2016 Donald Trump Jr. meeting with a Russian lawyer. She initially said she knew of no talk about Russian sanctions with Trump during the campaign. When I asked her "You're sure about that? Think about it," she then recalled the conversation between Kislyak and Trump campaign adviser Michael Flynn. White House lawyers invoked absolute immunity so she could not answer questions about her service in the White House. Questioning Election Law and Russian Intelligence Experts regarding Mueller Report As soon as I flew in to Washington from Memphis, I went to the Department of Justice to read the FBI 302s (interview notes) from the Special Counsel's investigation that had just been released for Judiciary Committee members. We continue to seek the fully unredacted report. On Thursday, the Judiciary Committee held its second hearing on Special Counsel Mueller's report with expert witnesses in the fields of election law, national security, and Russian intelligence. See my release about that session here. Congratulating Martine Roussel on her Election to the National Academy of Sciences This week, I congratulated Martine Roussel on her election to the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Roussel holds the endowed chair in molecular oncogenesis in the tumor cell biology department at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The work and research done at St. Jude is invaluable to the families receiving treatment and gives hope to future generations. Memphis is fortunate to have such an esteemed center for medical research which could not exist without the dedication of doctors and scientists like Dr. Roussel. Announcing Engineering Funding and Advanced Nursing Training Grants for the University of Memphis and UTHSC On Tuesday, I announced a major grant to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center for advanced nursing training. See that release here. On Wednesday, I announced a significant grant to the University of Memphis underwriting research in its Department of Mechanical Engineering. See that release here. On Thursday, the UTHSC received a second grant this week for diabetes and endocrinology research. Holding a Congress On Your Corner next Friday, June 28 Next week, my District Office staff will hold a "Congress On Your Corner" event at the Gaston Park Branch Library, 1040 South Third Street, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. They can help with issues involving federal agencies and federal benefits, such as Social Security, Medicare, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you need assistance, please drop by. Introducing National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act On Tuesday, I introduced the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act with colleagues Representatives Ben Cline (R-VA), Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA). It will ensure that certain members of the National Guard and Reserves who fall on hard economic times after their military service will continue to obtain bankruptcy relief without having to fill out the substantial paperwork required by the so-called "means test" under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. See my release here. June is Cataract Awareness Month, an opportunity to learn more about the clouding of the eye's lens that is the most common form of vision loss among the elderly. Risk factors for developing cataracts are diabetes, smoking and long term exposure to ultraviolet light. See the National Eye Institute's guidance on cataracts here. "The matter of reparations is one of making amends and direct redress, but it is also a question of citizenship. In H.R. 40, this body has a chance to both make good on its 2009 apology for enslavement and reject fair-weather patriotism. To say that a nation is both its credits and its debts. That if Thomas Jefferson matters, so does Sally Hemings. That if D-Day matters, so does Black Wall Street. That if Valley Forge matters, so does Fort Pillow. Because the question really is, not whether we will be tied to the ‘somethings' of our past, but whether we are courageous enough to be tied to the whole of them." "Reparations, quite simply, means to repair that which has been broken. It is not just about monetary compensation. An act of reparation is an attempt to make whole again, to restore; to offer atonement; to make amends; to reconcile for a wrong or injury. It is NOT the transfer of money from white people to black people; it is what this generation will do to repair the broken pieces of the racial mess we have all inherited from the past."
Steve Cohen |
