Joining President Obama at the White House to celebrate the Opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Dear Friend,
This week, I joined President Obama at the White House to celebrate the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, introduced a bipartisan bill to hold property owners of low-income housing accountable for poor living conditions, attended a Senate subcommittee hearing on the HUD inspection of these low-income housing properties, renewed my call for the use of independent prosecutors in instances of police use of deadly force, participated in a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on abortion rights, welcomed representatives of the Nashville Songwriters Association to my office, met with the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, participated in a Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus briefing, and received the second highest score of any lawmaker on the Flyersrights.org legislative scorecard. Keep reading to learn more about my week and follow me on Twitter and Facebook to see these updates as they happen.
Joining President Obama at the White House to celebrate the Opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Fighting for Safe, Clean and Affordable Housing
Renewing Call for Independent Prosecutors for Police Shootings
Supporting a Woman’s Right to Choose
Welcoming Nashville Songwriters to Washington
Meeting with the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste
Co-Chairing the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus
Ensuring the Safety and Comfort of Airline Passengers
September is Suicide Prevention Month
Bringing Congress to your Corner
Congressman Steve Cohen, singer and actor Harry Belafonte and author and historian Taylor Branch at the White House
Congressman Steve Cohen and the Tennessee State University Marching Band
Today, I had the honor of joining President and Mrs. Obama at the White House to celebrate the opening of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. At the reception, I spoke with singer and social activist Harry Belafonte, author and civil rights historian Taylor Branch, Reverend Jesse Jackson, former Congressman and civil rights leader Andrew Young, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, former New Orleans Mayor and head of the National Urban League Marc Morial, and several other Members of Congress and museum donors. Ben Crump and I discussed him coming to Memphis to visit the National Civil Rights Museum. I was also pleased to see the Tennessee State University marching band playing on the White House South Lawn. I sang “I’m so proud I go to TSU” with the band and got a nice response from the Memphians after I shouted “Memphis in the house!” I was also proud that some of the band members were recipients of the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship. You can watch a piece of their performance here.
The museum will officially open its doors to visitors on Saturday, September 24. It is the only museum in America devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture, history too often overlooked or given short shrift in other museums. Visitors can reserve free timed entry passes for the museum here.
Fighting for Safe, Clean and Affordable Housing
On Wednesday, I introduced the bipartisan Housing Accountability Act with Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) in response to the deplorable living conditions many Memphians and others have experienced at Global Ministries Foundation(GMF) properties. You can read more about the bill here. I also attended the Senate subcommittee hearing on this issue on Thursday. I would like to thank Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson for their testimony and Senator Bob Corker for participating in the hearing. We have all been very disturbed by the conditions of GMF properties in Memphis, Florida and around the country. You can read about the Senate hearing here.
Renewing Call for Independent Prosecutors for Police Shootings
I woke up Tuesday morning, as many of you did, to the shocking video of Terence Crutcher being shot to death by police in Oklahoma while his hands were up and he was against his car. At best it was gross negligence; at worst it was murder. The officer who shot Mr. Crutcher has been charged with first-degree manslaughter. This has been happening too often in the United States and we must do everything possible to stop these shootings of unarmed citizens. On Thursday I took to the House floor to renew my call for Congress to pass our Police Training and Independent Review Act. Even Joe Scarborough, former Republican Congressman and host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, agrees that we need independent prosecutors to investigate police shootings. You can watch my speech here.
Supporting a Woman’s Right to Choose
This morning, I spoke out against the Hyde Amendment and in support of a woman’s right to choose during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice hearing. You can watch my remarks here.
Welcoming Nashville Songwriters to Washington
On Wednesday, I welcomed representatives from the Nashville Songwriters Association to my Capitol Hill office to discuss music copyright reform. My staff and I were treated to an impromptu performance from the songwriters themselves. Thank you Jimmy Robbins, Lacy Green and Marcus Hummon for sharing your music and talents with us.
Meeting with the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste
On Wednesday, I had the honor of meeting with Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo and Former President and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao of Timor-Leste to discuss US-Timor-Leste relations during their visit to the United States for the U.N. General Assembly meeting.
Co-Chairing the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus
On Wednesday I attended a briefing on Capitol Hill hosted by the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus on new treatments for fighting aggressive lymphoma. As co-chair of the caucus, I introduced Dr. Louis Staudt from the National Cancer Institute to the attendees.
Ensuring the Safety and Comfort of Airline Passengers
On Wednesday, I was proud to receive the second highest score of any Congressman or Senator on the Flyersrights.org legislative scorecard for my work on airline passenger rights issues. Read more about the scorecard here.
September is Suicide Prevention Month
September is Suicide Prevention Month. Be there for the Veterans and Service members in your life by letting them know that you care. Learn more about the resources available during Suicide Prevention Month and year-round here.
Bringing Congress to your Corner
If you have questions or problems with Social Security, Medicare, FHA, the VA or any other federal agencies, my staff will be on hand at the Ed Rice Community Center (2907 N. Watkins St.) on Friday, October 14th from 12pm-2pm to answer questions and provide assistance. Please visit my website at https://cohen.house.gov for more information on Congress on your Corner events.
Go Tigers! Make it 3-0!
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress