Urging Bipartisan Support for Budget and Infrastructure Priorities
Dear Friend, This week, I returned to Washington to complete some end-of-year priorities, including passage of a bill to keep the federal government operating into mid-February. On the House floor, I urged my colleagues to support social and climate infrastructure priorities on a bipartisan basis; expressed my concern that the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn the longstanding precedent of Roe v. Wade in its consideration of a restrictive Mississippi abortion law; made constituents aware of an Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority vaccination event on December 11; offered U.S. Capitol Historical Society 2022 calendars; and offered a health tip. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see what I'm doing as it happens. Urging Bipartisan Support for Budget and Infrastructure Priorities Expressing Concern at the Threat to Roe v. Wade Flagging Availability of Vaccine Clinic Offering U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Urging Bipartisan Support for Budget and Infrastructure Priorities On Thursday, I voted to keep the federal government operating into mid-February as a Friday shutdown deadline approached. In the coming months, Democrats will continue working to craft and pass a strong, bipartisan, long-term funding bill that meets the needs of the American people and includes many important projects for Memphis that I am working to fund. The short-term funding bill we passed yesterday should allow enough time for Congress to finalize the annual appropriations process. I spoke from the House floor earlier in the week, urging bipartisan cooperation on the funding measure as well as the debt limit and the Build Back Better social and climate infrastructure bill that the House passed last month and which is now being considered in the Senate. See that speech here. Expressing Concern at the Threat to Roe v. Wade
On Wednesday, I walked from the Capitol to the U.S. Supreme Court to see the demonstrations and protests that were coinciding with the oral arguments over the restrictive Mississippi abortion law. I later addressed the House of Representatives about the threat posed by a potential ruling striking down the precedent of Roe v. Wade, which I noted became the law of the land in 1973 when I was in law school. See my release and the floor speech here as well as my tweet about it here. The tweet went viral and was endorsed and re-tweeted by noted Harvard Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe. Flagging Availability of Vaccine Clinic The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Memphis Metro Graduate Chapters in conjunction with W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute are hosting the Stay Well Memphis Community Health Fair and Vaccine Event on Saturday, December 11, 2021, at St. Paul Baptist Church located at 2124 East Holmes Road, Memphis, TN 38116. The free, public event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature local trusted Black health care professionals in a panel discussion on the continued impact of COVID-19 and its emerging variants. COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots will be available. Offering U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars
My office has a limited number of 2022 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive a calendar, please complete this 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. President Biden and public health experts this week expressed concern about the newly discovered Omicron variant of the coronavirus but also cautioned against overreaction. The best response to this new variant appears to be the existing and widely available vaccines and, for those already fully vaccinated, booster shots. The Shelby County Health Department will offer vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 accompanied by a parent or legal guardian on a walk-in basis at its immunization clinic at 814 Jefferson Avenue between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The accompanying parent or legal guardian must provide documentation of the child's birth date with either a birth certificate or shot record. In addition, adults already fully vaccinated are eligible for coronavirus booster shots. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends booster shots for adults who have had at least six months pass since receiving their second dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine or two months since receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. More information about the booster shots is available here. Vaccines are currently available for everyone 12 and older. If you need a ride to a vaccination site, you can call 901-RIDE901 (901-743-3901) to coordinate the best transportation option for you. The City of Memphis is also now coordinating with organizations, congregations, community groups, and businesses to host coronavirus vaccinations. The Pipkin Building at the old Mid-South Fairgrounds is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and will remain a vaccination site through Wednesday, December 15. The Shelby County Health Department at 814 Jefferson is also dispensing vaccines from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. No appointments are needed. To find the latest information about vaccination sites visit https://covid19.memphistn.gov/ "(T)here's been years of water under the bridge, 50 years of decisions saying that this is part of our law, that this is part of the fabric of women's existence in this country." – Justice Elena Kagan during oral arguments Wednesday in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. As always, I remain. Steve Cohen |
