{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/still-no-shutdown-breakthrough", "Still No Shutdown Breakthrough", "2013-10-11", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nToday is the 11th day of this unnecessary government shutdown and,\u00a0while there have been some hopeful signs, there has been no breakthrough yet. In less than a week, we face an even bigger crisis: the global economy could unravel if Congress fails to allow the nation to pay its bills. If the Tea Party refuses to drop their irresponsible and reckless demands and forces our nation to default on its debts\u2014debts that Congress had already voted to incur\u2014the world\u2019s economy could pay a heavier price than it did during the 2008 financial crisis. Every reputable economist agrees: the effects of not extending the debt limit would be catastrophic.\nAmerica Pays Its Debts  Ready to Negotiate to Get our Government Back to Work  Keeping Memphians Healthy  Bringing More Service to the Memphis Airport  Grant Announcements\nAmerica Pays Its Debts\nIn recent days, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have claimed that allowing the country to pay its bills would increase our debt\u2014but they are trying to mislead the public with inaccurate claims. When they say that Congress should not extend the debt limit because it increases our nation\u2019s debt, it is no truer than a family refusing to pay a credit card bill because it costs the family money. It\u2019s the spending that costs the family, not paying the bill.\nIt is not an example of fiscal restraint to miss a payment that is owed; it just hurts the family\u2019s credit rating and makes it harder for them to buy a car or a house in the future. If the U.S. fails to pay its bills, the Tea Party won\u2019t be saving our nation any money\u2014but they will guarantee that those who trusted America think long and hard about doing it again.\nA surprising number of Tea Party extremists have also tried their best in recent weeks to downplay the catastrophic impact of not paying our bills and not extending the debt limit. Those doing that could not be more wrong. Merely the threat of not paying our bills is already damaging our economy and jobs in America. If creditors stop trusting the United States government to repay its debts, the impact would be devastating. The price of gasoline would increase if the dollar loses value, interest rates for home loans and credit cards would skyrocket, and Americans could lose their retirement savings. Make no mistake: failing to pay our nation\u2019s bills would be a disaster for American families and for the middle class. You can read\u00a0Paul Krugman\u2019s column in today\u2019s New York Times\u00a0to learn more.\nReady to Negotiate to Get our Government Back to Work\nPrior to the federal government shutting down last week, the Tea Party made their position clear: they would not fund the government unless they could take away health benefits from millions of Americans, including more than 100,000 Ninth District constituents. There have been more than 40 votes in the House of Representatives to repeal the President\u2019s landmark Affordable Care Act, which is known to many as \u201cObamacare.\u201d Not a single vote has gone anywhere. Now they have taken our nation\u2019s government and economy hostage to get their way\u2014even though they already got the budget numbers that Speaker Boehner demanded. If he could take \u201cyes\u201d for an answer and let the House vote on the funding levels that he had previously agreed to, the Speaker could re-open the government today.\nThe Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. It was passed by both houses of Congress, signed by the President, upheld by the Supreme Court, and then ratified by President Obama\u2019s re-election last year. Today, it\u2019s helping millions of Americans afford quality health coverage, ensuring that no one can be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, saving seniors money on their prescription drugs, and keeping young people insured. Republicans have shut down the government and are holding our economy hostage in an attempt to take that all away. These tactics are wrong, and they must stop. This week,\u00a0I appeared on MSNBC\u2019s Jansing & Co.\u00a0and\u00a0spoke on the House floor\u00a0about how we ended up here what we can do now.\nOur nation, our economy, and the middle-class should not be held for ransom by an extreme faction of one party in one house of Congress. Today, that faction isn\u2019t even sure what they are holding our nation hostage for. First, they wouldn\u2019t keep the government open unless the President dropped his signature legislative achievement. Then they wouldn\u2019t reopen the government unless the Affordable Care Act was delayed. Since the shutdown started their demands have shifted almost every day. And while some brave Republicans have stepped forward and shown that they are willing to cooperate and get the government back to work, Tea Party Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is telling his extremist colleagues to dig in even further and keep the nation at a standstill.\nThe President and Democrats are ready to negotiate as soon as Republicans put the government back to work and pay the bills that they helped rack up. All we are asking for is a simple vote to end the government shutdown and to pay our bills so that we can avert an economic shutdown. We are ready to negotiate, but real negotiations cannot occur with the government shut down and the threat of default hurting our economy and killing jobs.\nKeeping Memphians Healthy\nEarlier this week, well-respected Memphis physician\u2014and my friend\u2014Dr. Manoj Jain wrote in the Commercial Appeal\u00a0that \u201cillnesses do not look at political preference. It does not matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, you favor Obamacare or don\u2019t favor Obamacare, getting health insurance is not about your ideology; rather, it is about your health.\u201d Dr. Jain couldn\u2019t be more right, and his words are an effective reminder that it doesn\u2019t matter what side of the political aisle we sit on\u2014all Memphians should have quality health coverage for their own benefit. 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 Obamacare.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer is going to continue offering 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 1-800-318-2596 or visit\u00a0www.HealthCare.gov. It\u2019s important to note that you\u00a0may be eligible to save money on your health care premiums\u00a0in the Marketplace. 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.\nThe Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District and the government shutdown doesn\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 Young adults up to age 26 can now stay on their parents\u2019 insurance plan and health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions.\nIf you are one of the millions of Americans who need health insurance, you can\u00a0sign up\u00a0for coverage today that will take effect January 1, 2014. Enrollment in the marketplace will remain open for six months.\u00a0Even though the federal government remains shut down, my staff and I are still here working for you. So go online to\u00a0www.healthcare.gov\u00a0to check out your options and feel free to call my office at 901-544-4131 if you have any questions.\nBringing More Service to the Memphis Airport\nThe Memphis airport is a critical transportation link for the Mid-South as well as a world-class facility that serves more than 6 million passengers a year. While in recent years the airport has lost many flights and routes, things have started looking up in past months: Southwest Airlines announced new routes and UPS announced a large expansion at the airport. This week, we got even more good news when Frontier Airlines announced that it will be bringing new flights to the Memphis airport. This Frontier Airlines service will bring more competition to the airport, improve flight affordability, and help our city and our economy grow. I will continue doing everything I can to bring more flights, routes, and airlines to Memphis International Airport.\n\u00a0Grant 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/still-no-shutdown-breakthrough"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7706042379140854, "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"}