Telephone Town Hall Today

Dear Friend,

Today I will be hosting a Telephone Town Hall at 3 p.m. CT on how best to create jobs and improve our economy, Medicare and Medicaid, and other important topics.  If you’d like to participate, you have until 11 a.m. CT to sign up.

Telephone Town Hall
Securing Funding for Memphis Transportation Projects
Middle Class Tax Cuts
U.S. Postal Service
Women’s Health Care
Women’s Reproductive Rights
University of Memphis
Keystone XL Pipeline
National Junior Achievement Summit
MLGW Scam
Free Photo Identification
Grant Announcements

Telephone Town Hall

Today I am hosting a Telephone Town Hall on jobs and the economy, Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, education, and other important topics.  If you’d like to participate, you have until 11 a.m. to sign up, which you can do by clicking here.  I look forward to talking to you and other 9th District constituents shortly.

Securing Funding for Memphis Transportation Projects
Yesterday I announced that Memphis and Shelby County received two federal grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation worth a total of $1.2 million.  The first grant -- worth $800,000 -- is for the purchase of two water taxis and to design and construct docking connections at points along Mud Island and in Wolf River Harbor.  The second grant -- worth $400,000 -- will develop planning and preliminary design to reconstruct US 78.

When Secretary Ray LaHood came to Memphis this spring I took him on a tour of the US 78 corridor and stressed the need for the Department of Transportation to invest in this critical roadway.  This grant will go a long way in upgrading US 78 and help create and maintain thousands of jobs located along this road.  Transportation is the economic engine of Memphis and these two federal grants will strengthen our transportation network.

Middle Class Tax Cuts
On Wednesday I spoke on the House floor to urge tax cuts for the middle-class and smaller tax cuts for the super rich.  I also discussed the political gridlock in Congress and how a Republican member recently announced that he has opted to retire instead of dealing with the political gridlock. I voted to extend tax cuts for all Americans and opposed the Republican plan to deliver extra tax breaks to the richest two percent on the backs of the middle class.  Rather than joining Democrats in their effort to provide tax cuts, Republicans voted down this measure in an attempt to secure even larger tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which they know will not pass in the Senate.  I stayed in Washington, D.C. to cast these votes, despite being in a contested primary, which was held yesterday.

If Republicans were serious about providing tax relief to the middle and upper-middle classes and cutting the debt, they would emulate the successful policies of President Clinton who cut spending and raised revenue by creating a more just tax system.  But this balanced approach is considered heresy within the majority’s caucus despite the fact that it is supported by onetime standard-bearers of Republican economic philosophy like Martin Feldstein, an adviser to President Ronald Reagan, and Henry Paulson, Treasury Secretary to President George W. Bush, as well as the Simpson-Bowles Commission and economists including Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz.

U.S. Postal Service

This week I sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner urging him to let the House of Representatives vote on bipartisan legislation the U.S. Senate approved to help save the U.S. Postal Service.  On August 1, 2012, for the first time in history, the United States Postal Service (USPS) defaulted on its obligations. Due to congressional inaction, the USPS failed to pay its $5.5 billion payment for future retiree health benefits. The Senate passed a bipartisan postal reform legislation bill, by a vote of 62-37, in April that could have prevented the default and could preserve the Postal Service.

The USPS is laboring under a crippling cost burden mandated by the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.  The Postal Service must prefund the employer’s premium for the health benefits of future retirees, while still continuing to pay health care premiums for its current retirees. No other entity – public or private – is required to prepay this health benefit obligation at these extremely high levels. Congress must act quickly in order to prevent the loss of thousands of jobs in the Postal Service and the American mailing industry.

Women’s Health Care
On Wednesday I announced that thanks to the Affordable Care Act all new health care plans will be required at the start of their plan year to provide free coverage of key women’s preventive services.  This was an important week for women across America.  Up until Wednesday, many health insurance policies didn’t even cover basic women’s preventive care.  Others charged such high co-payments for key preventive services that women went without them altogether.  Studies have shown that more than half of women have delayed or avoided preventive care because of its cost.  Now, because of the Affordable Care Act that I was proud to support, women will have coverage for key women’s preventive services with no co-pays.

Women’s Reproductive Rights
This week I voted against the “District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.”   This bill would ban all abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks, with very limited exceptions. This bill is part of a litany of anti-women’s health legislation and activities that are part of a misguided attempt to politicize women’s access to health care.  This legislation would take away a woman’s ability to make an extremely personal, medical decision, and hands it over to politicians.  The measure also broadens the usual Republican attack on women who live in the District and on home rule by prohibiting all such abortions after 20 weeks, regardless of how they are paid for, in only one local jurisdiction, the District of Columbia. This Republican measure is an attack on basic freedom and liberty.  A woman facing difficult decisions needs the best medical care available, not judgment from politicians.  Fortunately, the bill failed to receive the necessary votes and did not pass the House.

University of Memphis

On Tuesday I announced that the University of Memphis has received two federal grants, both awarded by the National Science Foundation.  The first grant -- worth $574,848 – is for a project entitled “Supporting a New Generation.”  The second grant -- worth $136,178 – is for a project entitled “Making Global Capital Work: Economic Openness and Corporate Governance in Chinese Capital Markets.”

Keystone XL Pipeline
More than 20 members of Congress joined me in formally requesting that the State Department conduct a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the revised proposal of the Keystone XL pipeline.  In our letter to Kerri-Ann Jones -- the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs – we asserted that since the proposed pipeline is essentially a new project, it warrants a wholly new environmental review.  Additionally, our letter outlines a number of issues that should be addressed in a new EIS that were either neglected or inaccurately analyzed in the Final EIS for the original Keystone XL pipeline project.

National Junior Achievement Summit

On Wednesday high school students from across the country were on Capitol Hill competing in the Junior Achievement Company of the Year program.  Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.  The students demonstrated their business ideas in the Cannon Caucus room.  The 15 finalists for this nationwide competition were from: Memphis, TN; Kankakee, IL; Chesterfield, MO; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Tulsa, OK; San Diego; Houston; Los Angeles; and Minneapolis.
           
MLGW Scam

MLGW is receiving renewed reports from customers who appear to have fallen victim to a nationwide utility bill scam. As part of the scam, customers are being told that President Obama has approved special funding through the Federal Reserve Bank for utility bill assistance. There is no such funding.  The most recent reports involve scammers giving victims a toll-free number to call for utility assistance. The customer is then prompted to enter his or her social security number and additional information, and is then provided with a fraudulent bank routing number. The routing number is not valid and the payments will not be applied to MLGW customer bills. The scams have also been reported in several other states. Customers who believe they have been victimized by a scam should contact MLGW at 901.544.MLGW (6549).  

Free Photo Identification
Shelby County driver service centers are no longer open on Saturdays but if you or someone you know still needs a photo ID for voting purposes you don’t have to wait in line. If you only need to get an ID for voting purposes, you can still visit any driver’s license renewal station in Shelby County during regular business hours and there is a special line to serve your needs.  And if you are a Veteran who needs ID you can get free government-issued photo IDs at the Veterans Administration.  To learn more about the new voter ID laws, visit my website here.

Grant Announcements
Each week I release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others.  These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the 9th district. The announcements are updated regularly on my website.

Wishing you a happy and safe weekend,

As always, I remain,

Most sincerely,

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress