Dear Friend,
This week, I urged House leadership to prioritize the needs of small and minority-owned businesses as it negotiates the next coronavirus relief bill. I also urged them to stand firm on extending the $600 per week federal supplemental unemployment benefit through January, as the House did in the Heroes Act passed in mid-May. I also told negotiators that the relief aid provided to businesses must be transparent so that taxpayers know which businesses received assistance, and what they did with it. I also noted that last Friday marked the 12th anniversary of the U.S. House of Representatives' first-ever apology for slavery and Jim Crow laws, which I authored and shepherded to passage in 2008; agreed with President Trump's criticism of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) proposal to outsource I.T. jobs; wrote Governor Lee urging him to remove obstacles to children and families receiving the food assistance for which they are eligible; urged constituents to fill out U.S. Census forms after the deadline was shortened this week; and offered a coronavirus-related health tip. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see what I'm doing as it happens.
Urging Coronavirus Relief Negotiators to Prioritize Small and Minority Businesses
Celebrating the 12th Anniversary of the Apology for Slavery and Jim Crow
Agreeing with Trump about Outsourcing TVA Jobs and Outrageous Salaries
Writing to Governor Lee to Assure Children and Families Receive Food Assistance
Filling Out U.S. Census Form
Weekly Health Tip
Quote of the Week
Urging Coronavirus Relief Negotiators to Prioritize Small and Minority Businesses
Although the House passed the $3 trillion Heroes Act to limit the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic back in mid-May, Senate negotiators and the White House have only now begun serious discussions – after many crucial benefits, such as supplemental unemployment payments -- have lapsed. On Monday last week, Saturday and again today, I urged Democratic negotiators to prioritize the needs of small and minority-owned businesses in this next round, to keep the supplemental weekly unemployment benefit at $600, to reject giving corporations tax breaks and to make all the relief under the Paycheck Protection Program transparent so taxpayers will know how their money was spent. The CARES Act sent too much money to those who didn't need it. The new bill, based on the Heroes Act, must send aid those in true need. See releases with my letters here and here.
Celebrating the 12th Anniversary of the Apology for Slavery and Jim Crow
On July 29, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution, for the first time, apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow laws. I was proud to have authored the measure and of the effort I made to bring it to the floor. Please see a speech I made from the House floor on the occasion of this achievement here.
Agreeing with Trump about Outsourcing TVA Jobs and Outrageous Salaries I seldom agree with President Trump, but I acknowledged Monday that he was right about the outrageous salaries paid to the TVA CEO and other top executives. I also agreed that TVA's proposal to outsource 108 Information Technology (I.T.) jobs overseas was in error. I sent a letter to House Democrats in May urging them to prevent the privatization and outsourcing of federal jobs, like those at TVA, during national emergencies, such as the ongoing pandemic. This is good public policy and, as I told one reporter about Trump, "Even a blind squirrel sometimes finds an acorn."
Writing to Governor Lee to Assure Children and Families Receive Food Assistance
On Tuesday, I joined Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-05) in a letter to Governor Bill Lee expressing our concern that the state has placed obstacles in the way of families eligible for food assistance and other benefits available through the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program, and potentially forfeiting $60 million in federal funds devoted to the program. See my release on the letter here.
Filling Out U.S. Census Forms 
By now you will have heard that the door-knocking and ability for households to respond either online, by phone or by mail to the U.S. Census questionnaire will stop at the end of September instead of the end of October, as previously scheduled. This could be very bad news in traditionally under-counted places like Memphis. You can find the online form at 2020Census.gov. I did mine online in a matter of minutes. Help your community get its fair share of our national resources. Consider filling out the form today.
Weekly Health Tip
Again this week, I want to call attention to the alarming spike in coronavirus cases, including in Tennessee, likely as a result of reopening prematurely and often without implementing basic precautionary measures like wearing masks and adhering to social distancing guidelines. Please follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocols and those adopted by Memphis and Shelby County for staying safe in this ongoing pandemic: Wash your hands frequently for at least 25 seconds; keep a minimum social distance of six feet from others; wear a face mask when out in public; and avoid being in crowds of more than 10. We must work together to get through this.
Quote of the Week
"I have said through the years that sometimes questions are more important than answers. However, there comes a time when words are cheap, when questions can immobilize us. It is my hope that all of the questions, the protests and the slogans might yield to constructive change and lead to a more fair and equitable future for all and that Dr. King's wisdom might come to fruition: The arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice." – The Reverend Steve Montgomery, retired pastor of Idlewild Presbyterian Church, in a June 14 column titled "Listening, and learning to be an antiracist." Montgomery died after bicycle accident last week.
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress |
