{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/50th-anniversary-march-washington", "The 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington", "2013-08-30", "2013", "2013-08", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend, This week marked the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington that inspired a generation of Americans to act for justice and helped lead to both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. I came to Washington last Friday and have been honored to be able to attend a number of events surrounding the 50th anniversary over the last few days. This week, I also signed on to a letter urging the President to allow the U.N. the time it needs to do its job and give Congress the chance to weigh in before acting on Syria. Keep reading to learn what else happened this week. Welcoming Memphians to Washington  Continuing the Fight for Civil Rights   Reigniting the Fierce Urgency of Now Weighing in on Syria Listening to Memphis Fighting for Immigration Reform Working to Protect Law-Abiding Citizens Providing a Second Chance to Ex-Offenders Reigning in For-Profit Colleges Grants for Memphis Labor Day  Grant Announcements\u00a0\u00a0 \nWelcoming Memphians to Washington   Last Friday, I was glad to welcome a large group of Memphians, including legendary civic activist and leader Velma Lois Jones, who had driven through the night from Tennessee. They were in Washington to attend a weekend march that retraced the route taken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. down the National Mall some 50 years ago. When they arrived, I gave the group a private tour of the Capitol building. I attended Saturday\u2019s march as well, where my friend and civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis\u2014who spoke at the march in 1963\u2014gave a moving speech about the continuing fight for justice.\nContinuing the Fight for Civil Rights   August 28th was the actual 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, and that afternoon I watched as our first African American President, Barack Obama, spoke on the same steps of the Lincoln Memorial that Dr. King gave his \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech five decades ago. On the same day five years ago, then-Senator Obama accepted the Democratic Party\u2019s nomination for our nation\u2019s highest office.\nThe President was joined on Wednesday by President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton.\u00a0 President Clinton reflected on the Supreme Court\u2019s recent ruling that eviscerated parts of the Voting Rights Act and said \u201ca great democracy does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault weapon.\u201d I couldn\u2019t agree with him more.\nWe cannot forget that our work for justice and equality is not done or that our fight continues, but the President\u2019s speech this week was an important reminder of all the strides this society has made since August 28th, 1963.\nReigniting the Fierce Urgency of Now   On Tuesday, I held a press conference on Capitol Hill and urged the President to heed the words of Dr. King\u2019s speech from the March and recognize the \u201cfierce urgency of now.\u201d I called on the President to commute the sentences of non-violent, low-level drug offenders still incarcerated in federal prisons who would not be in prison if sentenced under today\u2019s laws.\u00a0\nI was pleased to be a leading force in Congress to change outdated sentencing laws, and was glad to hear the President say on Wednesday that \u201cthe criminal justice system is not just a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails.\u201d\nCongress and the American people have recognized that their sentences are unfair, and the President can and should do everything he can do to deliver them justice. I wrote an op-ed that appeared in The Nation magazine a few days ago on this subject, as well as one that appeared in the Tri-State Defender earlier this month, if you are interested in learning more.\nWeighing in on Syria  \n\tYesterday, I joined with Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California and 52 of my Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to the President urging that the U.N. be allowed time to finish its job and that Congress be allowed to weigh in before any further action on Syria is taken. You can read the full letter here.\nListening to Memphis  \n\tOn Wednesday night, I hosted a telephone town hall meeting to answer questions about the issues facing our nation and the Ninth District. Town halls give us the opportunity to discuss the issues and concerns that matter most to Memphians.\nDuring Wednesday\u2019s telephone town hall, we discussed the importance of bringing jobs to Memphis, the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington and the continuing fight to ensure all Americans enjoy the same civil and human rights, as well as the many benefits of the Affordable Care Act, which I was proud to support.\nWhether working to grow our economy and create jobs or fighting to protect the voting rights of all Americans and ensure each of us has access to affordable health care, the opinions and ideas of Ninth District constituents help us move forward with legislation in Congress.\nFighting for Immigration Reform  \n\tLast night I attended a forum in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington to discuss the progress we still need to make on ensuring civil rights for all Americans.\u00a0 Among the topics we covered was the need to enact comprehensive immigration reform so that people who have come to this nation in search of a better life can come out of the shadows and fully participate in our society.\nWorking to Protect Law-Abiding Citizens  \n\tI have consistently urged the President and Attorney General to allow states to determine their own marijuana laws and to respect those determinations. I was pleased that the Department of Justice yesterday announced new guidelines that\u2014while not fully protecting businesses and individuals that comply with state and local laws\u2014appear to reduce risk of federal prosecution for those individuals and businesses.\nSupreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously said that states are the laboratories of democracy. He was right\u2014but if those laboratories are to make any sort of breakthrough, the federal government must give them that chance. Yesterday\u2019s move by Attorney General Holder that means those who comply with relevant state and local laws are less at risk of overzealous federal prosecution is a step in the right direction, and it continues this Administration\u2019s recent strides towards a smarter, more just approach to federal drug policy.\nPresident Obama\u2019s Administration is making incremental progress to address the basic unfairness of our federal drug policy and law enforcement policy, and I appreciate that it has started to work on these important issues. I look forward to working with the President and the Attorney General to finish the work that has been started, to make sure our sentencing laws are equally applied and reflect American ideals, and that law-abiding citizens of states like Colorado and Washington do not live in fear of their federal government.\nProviding a Second Chance to Ex-Offenders  \n\tThis morning I spoke to Shifting Gears Community Outreach for their event \u201cThe Key Turns Twice: Is the Sentence Ever Done?\u201d\u00a0 I described my strong support for programs that help ex-offenders reintegrate into society and get back on their feet.\u00a0 Second Chance programs represent one of the best investments we can make because research shows that providing access to jobs, housing, substance abuse treatment and other supportive services help keep ex-offenders from returning to crime.\nI also discussed my bill, the Fresh Start Act, which would allow certain non-violent offenders to have their offense expunged from their criminal records.\u00a0\u00a0 For too many people, a conviction for even a minor offense can effectively doom them to a life sentence because jobs, housing, and education can all be denied to them on the basis of their conviction.\u00a0 My bill would offer people who have served their time and lived a clean life since the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start their lives over.\nReigning in For-Profit Colleges   On Monday night, I had a chance to talk with Chris Hayes on MSNBC about the problems in our higher education sector\u2014specifically among for-profit colleges that make most of their money from federal student loans and often don\u2019t provide high-quality educations that prepare graduates for jobs that will allow them to pay back those loans.\nStudents, especially those at for-profit schools, who find themselves unable to get enough government aid to pay their high tuition are turning to private loans to fill the gap. Unlike federal student loans, there are few consumer protections available for these private student loans leaving some students stuck with this debt for the rest of their lives. I have introduced legislation to restore some fairness in student lending, by allowing financially distressed borrowers of private student loans to discharge those loans in bankruptcy, just as other types of private debt can be discharged.\nGrants for Memphis  \n\tThis week, I announced more than $1 million in federal grant funding for organizations in Memphis.\u00a0Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region was awarded $265,000 in funding to expand and enhance its HIV prevention program, and the\u00a0University of Memphis received grants totaling almost $900,000 for three different projects.\nLabor Day  \n\tOn Monday, we observe Labor Day, which celebrates the hard-working men and women of our country. I hope that you will join me for a Labor Day Picnic hosted by Trinity Methodist Church, taking place from 11:00am \u2013 1:00pm at Trinity Methodist on the corner of Galloway and Evergreen.\nI will continue to fight in Washington to ensure that all working men and women have a living wage and a fair working environment. I am a proud cosponsor of the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 within three years, and would ensure that it rises with the cost of living in the years after that. With unemployment still too high, I hope that the House Republican Leadership will put partisan politics aside and bring legislation to the floor that will create jobs and move this country forward.\nGrant Announcements\u00a0\u00a0  \n\tI regularly 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.\u00a0Again, thank you for your\u00a0interest.\u00a0 As always, I remain.  \n\tMost sincerely,    \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://cohen.house.gov/50th-anniversary-march-washington"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9430930949747562, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}