{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/honoring-our-veterans", "Honoring Our Veterans", "2013-11-08", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\u00a0\nMonday, November 11th, is Veterans Day, when we recognize the sacrifices made by our nation\u2019s more than 22 million living Americans who have distinguished themselves through their service in uniform and honor all of the heroes who have served this country throughout the years. The bravery and devotion that they have shown throughout our history have helped build this great country, and each of us owes them\u2014and their families\u2014a debt of gratitude.\nAnnual Veterans Day Luncheon  Bringing More Competition to the Memphis Airport  Recovering from 2011\u2019s Severe Floods  Helping Memphis Get Covered  Remembering JFK  Medicare Open Enrollment  Keeping More Newborns Alive  Electronics Recycling Drive  Grant Announcements\nAnnual Veterans Day Luncheon\nAs in years past, I will be hosting my annual Veterans Day luncheon from 11AM to 1PM on Monday at BRIDGES in Memphis. BRIDGES is located at 477 N. 5th Street. If you are a Ninth District veteran, I would like to invite you to attend my luncheon and I hope to see you there for good company, good food, and to receive the respect and thanks that you deserve. Also, just before my luncheon on Monday, I will attend the Memphis VA Medical Center\u2019s Veterans Day Parade.\nBringing More Competition to the Memphis Airport\nThis Monday, I visited Memphis International Airport to celebrate the beginning of Southwest Airlines\u2019 new service in our city. The airline is bringing six new non-stop routes to Memphis and will offer more than 80 connecting destinations\u2014that means more competition, better options, and hopefully lower prices for Mid-South consumers. While our city\u2019s relationship with Delta Airlines has been a source of disappointment and frustration in recent years, things are beginning to look up for Memphis travelers.\nRecovering from 2011\u2019s Severe Floods\nOur community sustained terrible damage in the severe storms of 2011, and many Ninth District citizens still need help rebuilding their lives. On Tuesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development approved Shelby County\u2019s disaster recovery plan, paving the way for the County to receive more than $7.4 million in federal funding for its recovery efforts. This funding will go a long way towards helping our city and the rest of Shelby County recover from the natural disaster that still affects many families in our region.\nHelping Memphis Get Covered\nAll Memphians should have quality health coverage. Luckily, many who have been unable to afford quality coverage in the past are now eligible to enroll in\u00a0Tennessee\u2019s Health Insurance Marketplace\u00a0thanks to the President\u2019s landmark Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. If you do not have health insurance coverage, you\u00a0may be eligible to save money on your health care premiums\u00a0in the Marketplace.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer is going to offer qualified health insurance next year, you\u2019re already covered and won\u2019t need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren\u2019t sure whether or not you will need to use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at\u00a01-800-318-2596 or visit www.HealthCare.gov. You can also call my office or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee\u2019s Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you. If you are one of the millions of Americans who need health insurance, you can sign up\u00a0for coverage today that will take effect January 1, 2014. Enrollment in the marketplace will remain open for six months, but you can go online to www.healthcare.gov\u00a0 today to check out your options.\nThe Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District and the government shutdown didn\u2019t change that. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 147,000 individuals in the district now have health insurance that covers preventive services without co-pays, $3.1 million in insurance premiums have been returned to consumers, and more than 5,000 seniors on Medicare paid a total of $5.9 million less for their prescription medications as we continue to close the \u2018donut hole.\u2019 Health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and young adults up to age 26 can now stay on their parents\u2019 insurance plan.\nIn recent weeks, there have been reports of citizens having difficulty successfully using the Marketplace website. Many of these reported problems have already been resolved and there are people working around the clock to fix the problems that remain on the website. But the Marketplace website is only one tool that you can use to sign up for coverage. If you are having trouble accessing the website, please do not hesitate to call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit Seedco Mid-South for in-person help. Seedco is located at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900), and they can be reached by phone at 901-528-8341.\nNext week, Seedco will also be hosting two town hall meetings with Mayor A C Wharton to answer questions about the Marketplace and help Memphians enroll in it. On Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:00 PM, they will host a town hall meeting at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library on Poplar and from 5:30\u00a0to 7:00PM on Thursday, you can attend their town hall meeting at Golden Gate Cathedral, located at 3240 James Road. If you have any other questions, you should also feel free to call my office at 901-544-4131.\nRemembering JFK\nNext week, WKNO Public Television will air \u201cAmerican Experience: JFK,\u201d a two-part profile of one of our nation\u2019s most beloved presidents. Last week in Washington, I had the opportunity to see an advance screening of the film with John Seigenthaler who, in addition to being a well-respected Tennessean, was a close friend of the Kennedys. If you are interested in the life and times of President John F. Kennedy, I recommend you taking the time to watch or record this profile next week. The first part will air at 8PM on Monday night, and part two will air at 8PM Tuesday.\nMedicare Open Enrollment\nMedicare Part D enrollment for 2014 is now open and will run until December 7th. The Aging Commission of the Mid-South will be sponsoring several enrollment workshops in the 9th District to assist seniors in enrolling in next year\u2019s plans. All that you have to bring is your Medicare card and prescriptions. Be sure not to miss out on this great opportunity to lower your monthly pharmacy costs. For dates, times, and locations of the workshops\u00a0please click here.\nKeeping More Newborns Alive\nA few days ago, the New York Times ran a story about one aspect of the Affordable Care Act that many people don\u2019t know about: the landmark health care reform law could help prevent the deaths of infants around the country. Though our nation once lost fewer infants than most other industrialized nations,\u00a0in 2010 we fell behind most of the industrialized world. Because the Affordable Care Act now ensures broader access to prenatal care for pregnant women in this country, many women at higher risk of premature births\u2014who are often minorities\u2014will have improved health care and we could see a quantifiable decrease in our nation's infant mortality soon.\u00a0The New York Times story\u00a0is definitely worth a read.\nElectronics Recycling Drive\nNext Friday between 3 and 6:30 PM, an electronics recycling drive will be held at the Central Station pavilion\u00a0at Front and G.E. Patterson. If you have any electronics that you need to dispose of but that should not be recycled or thrown in the trash (such as computers, TVs, cell phones, DVDs and other items), I hope you will bring them to the recycling drive next week.\nGrant Announcements\nI 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\u00a0updated regularly on my website.\nAs always, I remain.  Most sincerely,    Steve Cohen  Member 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/honoring-our-veterans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.495311200618744, "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"}