{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/remembering-911-0", "Remembering 9/11", "2013-09-13", "2013", "2013-09", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nWednesday marked the 12th anniversary of the unspeakable acts of evil perpetrated against innocent civilians on 9/11. It was a day for each and every one of us to take time to reflect on the heroism of firefighters, policemen, and other first responders from across the nation, thank those who continue the fight to keep us safe, and honor the victims of the awful terrorist attacks of September 11th. As each year passes, I remember the thousands of innocent lives lost, but I also look back on the stunning selflessness shown by our nation\u2019s first responders and the countless other heroes that were forged that day. I spoke about them on the floor of the House this week\u2014you can watch my remarks here.\nKeeping 9/11 Victims in our Hearts  Pumping the Brakes on Syria  Honoring Those Lost in the Fight for Civil Rights  Preventing Another Government Shutdown  Holding the NSA Accountable  Affordable Care Act Update  Grants for Memphis  Remembering Evie Horton  Grant Announcements\nKeeping 9/11 Victims in our Hearts\nIf you have a moment to spare, I hope you will watch one of the most moving tributes to the victims of 9/11 that I have seen, the Young People\u2019s Chorus of New York City singing my friend Warren Zevon\u2019s \u201cKeep Me In Your Heart\u201d at Ground Zero on September 11th, 2010. I know the terrible events of that day deeply affected Warren, as it did each and every one of us, and I will continue to keep those we lost in my heart.\nWhile the cowardice of the 9/11 bombers fades further and further into our collective memory, the shared sense of national unity and purpose that flourished in the aftermath continues to shine. We must not forget that the indomitable American spirit continues to live on as well.\nPumping the Brakes on Syria\n  \n\tAs we stand this week with the families and loved ones of the victims of 9/11, we also honor and remember victims of terrorism around the globe in all its forms\u2014whether perpetrated by al Qaeda or by despotic regimes with little regard for their citizens.\nThis historically significant week also marked a turning point for the situation in Syria. The threat of military action by President Obama appears to have pushed the Assad regime back to the negotiating table and increased the chances for a diplomatic resolution.\nAfter numerous classified briefings with senior Obama Administration officials, including a nearly three-hour meeting with Vice President Biden at the White House, I am convinced that Bashar al Assad\u2019s regime is behind the use of chemical weapons in an attack on Syrian civilians that violated international law as well as basic human decency.\nWhile I am convinced that these weapons were used, the American people must have a voice in how the United States responds to these violations. I am glad that the President has delayed his request for a Congressional vote on the authorization for the use of military force in Syria. I will continue to listen to the concerns of the people of the Ninth District, weigh the classified intelligence made available by the President and his Administration, and consider the vast geopolitical consequences of military action\u2014or inaction\u2014before deciding on the best path forward. I am hopeful that a diplomatic resolution to this humanitarian crisis can be achieved.\nHonoring Those Lost in the Fight for Civil Rights\nWhile 9/11 and the recent abhorrent attacks in Syria are on our minds this week, it is worth remembering that terrorism can take many shapes and does not always look the same\u2014nor is it always from a foreign source. Our nation has a sad history of domestic terrorism as well.\nNearly 50 years ago in 1963, four young African-American girls were brutally killed in an explosion at a church in Birmingham, Alabama\u2014from a bomb that had been planted by white supremacists. The bombers\u2019 goal, like all terrorists, was to frighten the community but the church bombing had the opposite effect. Along with the March on Washington, the loss of these four innocent children had a galvanizing effect on America and within two years, both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act had passed Congress and been signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.\nOn Tuesday, leaders from both the House and the Senate\u2014and from both parties\u2014gathered in the United States Capitol to award Congress\u2019 highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, to those four girls: Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair. It shouldn\u2019t have taken 50 years, but I\u2019m glad that we\u2019ve recognized their sacrifice and honored them in this way\u2014it was the right thing to do.\nPreventing Another Government Shutdown\nWith funding for the federal government set to expire at the end of the month, Congress must pass a new budget resolution or risk yet another government shutdown that would harm our economy and kill jobs.\nUnfortunately\u2014and sadly unsurprisingly\u2014Speaker Boehner and Republican House Leadership were forced to delay a vote on a compromise resolution to avert a shutdown because the Tea Party demanded yet another doomed vote to defund and repeal the Affordable Care Act. Essentially, the Tea Party has decided that holding another vote to repeal, defund, and delay President Obama\u2019s Health Care Reform law is more important than keeping the government running. This is in spite of the fact that each of the previous 41 votes, including this week\u2019s attempt which I voted against, have gone nowhere and stand no chance of having any effect on the law.\nI hope House Republicans come to their senses and work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government running.\nHolding the NSA Accountable\nEarlier this week, and only after lawsuits were filed by privacy groups, the Director of National Intelligence revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) violated its own rules and misled the court tasked with overseeing it for nearly three years. In that time, the NSA admits it may have spied on American citizens without legal authorization and even without suspecting them of ties to terrorism. According to Bloomberg News, this isn\u2019t even the first time the NSA has admitted to violating surveillance rules or misleading the court.\nThat\u2019s unacceptable, and the NSA should be held accountable for these violations. But so far, the only court with the authority to reign in the NSA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (or FISA Court), has done little to protect American citizens. I have introduced a bill that could help. My FISA Court Accountability Act\u00a0would change the way that members of the court are appointed by giving the American people, through their elected representatives, a say in who ends up on the court and also addresses several other issues.\nThe FISA Court should act as a check on violations and overreaches from the federal government, but it is unlikely to effectively prevent and fix violations if the vast majority of its members share similar views on personal privacy. My legislation won\u2019t resolve all of our concerns about the FISA Court or NSA surveillance of American citizens, but it\u2019s a start. It will bring accountability and transparency to the FISA Court, and hopefully lead to stronger enforcement of privacy rules meant to protect American citizens.\nAffordable Care Act Update\nYesterday, the United States Department of Health and Human Services released a new report\u00a0showing just how much President Obama\u2019s landmark Affordable Care Act saved consumers across the nation last year. Because of a provision in the Health Care Reform law that requires that rate increases are reviewed before going into effect, 6.8 million Americans saved an estimated $1.2 billion in 2012. And that\u2019s on top of the estimated $3.4 billion saved on insurance premiums because of protections that ensure more of what you pay for insurance actually goes into paying for health care, rather than advertising, overhead, and profit.\nGrants for Memphis\nThis morning, I announced more than $1.5 million in grant funding for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. The Department of Health and Human Services awarded the funds for four different projects, which you can read more about here.\nRemembering Evie Horton\nI was saddened to learn that Evie Horton, a lifelong educator and civic worker, passed away this week. Evie was a beautiful and thoughtful lady who exuded goodness and grace. She was married to Judge Odell Horton, Memphis\u2019 first African American federal judge who is now memorialized at the building in which he held court\u2014which was renamed the Clifford Davis/Odell Horton Federal Building by an Act of Congress that I sponsored. Here\u2019s a photo of Sen. Alexander and I presenting Mrs. Horton and the Horton family with a copy of the Congressional Resolution in 2007.\nShe loved her husband deeply and, after 50 years of marriage, honored his memory each day following his passing in 2006. Memphis has lost one of its most beautiful citizens. Evie Horton will be sorely missed by all.\nGrant Announcements \u00a0\u00a0\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/remembering-911-0"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8711270056664944, "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"}