{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/supporting-president-and-preventing-another-government-shutdown", "Supporting the President and Preventing another Government Shutdown", "2014-09-19", "2014", "2014-09", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nThis week we celebrated Constitution Day, Congress voted to prevent another government shutdown and support President Obama\u2019s strategy to confront and degrade the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (a.k.a. ISIS), I met with the new President of the University of Memphis as well as the incoming Director of the National Civil Rights Museum, and First Lady Michelle Obama visited St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital. Keep reading to learn more about what happened this week.\nSupporting the President and Preventing another Government Shutdown  First Lady Michelle Obama Visits St. Jude  Preventing Youth Violence in Shelby County  Welcoming Memphians to My Capitol Hill Office  Fighting for Tennessee\u2019s Students  Helping Keep Memphis at the Forefront of Medical Research  Celebrating Constitution Day  Protecting Consumers Online  Facebook Photo Contest  President Obama Seeking Mentors for Young People  Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property\nSupporting the President and Preventing another Government Shutdown\nCongress has a responsibility to both keep our government running and keep the American people safe. I am pleased that many on both sides of the aisle came together this week to pass H.J.Res.124, which prevents yet another government shutdown and shows our support for President Obama\u2019s plan to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIS.\nWhile I do not agree with everything in this bill\u2014including across-the-board cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the LIHEAP program millions of Americans need to keep their homes from freezing in the winter, and the Head Start program that helps prepare Memphis children for school\u2014countless vital programs would be harmed far more if our government were to shut down once again.\nIf ISIS succeeds in creating its extremist caliphate, it will pose a threat to freedom, democracy, tolerance, diversity, and the United States of America. After many briefings with senior officials from the Department of Defense as well as the State Department, listening to my constituents and much careful consideration, I believe it is in America\u2019s best interest to support the President\u2019s strategy, which includes building an international coalition to confront ISIS, training and equipping moderate Syrians who can bring the fight to these terrorists\u2019 doorstep, and providing humanitarian assistance to avert the genocide of religious minorities in the region. I spoke with Fox 13\u2019s Darrell Greene about the President\u2019s ISIS plan yesterday afternoon. You can watch our conversation here.\nFirst Lady Michelle Obama Visits St. Jude\nOn Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama came to Memphis to visit children being treated at St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital. Our city always benefits when public figures like the First Lady come, and I am glad that Mrs. Obama was able to make it to Memphis this week.\nWhile her visit to our city conflicted with very important votes in the House on Wednesday to keep the government open, I hope to join the First Lady, the President, and the rest of the First Family on their next visit to Memphis. I also hope that when here, the entire First Family visits the newly reopened National Civil Rights Museum to experience it, and what it represents, firsthand.\nPreventing Youth Violence in Shelby County\nAs we have recently witnessed, we must do more to address and prevent youth violence in Memphis. Yesterday, I was proud to announce an $856,363 federal grant to help the Shelby County Board of Education better address this problem. You can read more about how the funding will be used here, but it will go a long way towards helping our schools better respond to violence on school grounds, prevent additional instances, and keep our communities safe.\nWelcoming Memphians to My Capitol Hill Office\nThis week, I met with the new University of Memphis President Dr. David Rudd and the incoming Director of the National Civil Rights Museum, Terri Freeman. I was pleased to be able to introduce them to each other and I hope the University and the Museum will find ways to work together to accomplish their shared goals. I also enjoyed meeting with several students attending Howard University in Washington, including Memphian Ayanna McFarland, this morning.\nFighting for Tennessee\u2019s Students\nDuring my meeting with Dr. Rudd, we discussed how the Tennessee Promise program will impact students across the state.\u00a0The Tennessee Promise program, which was sold to the legislature as \u201cfree community college to all high school grads\u201d is actually just a last-dollar scholarship for community college.\u00a0That means that students who qualify for Pell grants will not benefit from the Promise program because they are already eligible for financial aid up to $5,730 for the 2014-15 school year, which covers the full cost of community college.\u00a0Thus, any students from households that earned less than $42,000 will not benefit from the Tennessee Promise.\u00a0(To find out how much federal financial assistance you or your child would receive for college, visit the FAFSA4caster.)\nTennessee Promise is funded partially by reducing scholarships for freshmen and sophomores at 4-year colleges and universities from $4,000 to $3,500.\u00a0It also reduced the HOPE ASPIRE supplements for students from households earning less than $36,000 by $500 per semester. This net reduction of $1500 per year for students from the poorest households will undoubtedly prevent some students from attending 4-year colleges.\u00a0These students, who planned and performed well in high school to qualify for a HOPE scholarship, may now be unable to afford going straight to college from high school.\u00a0Cumulatively, it may result in fewer students attending 4-year schools, creating funding gaps for our 4-year colleges which are already stretched thin due to years of dwindling funding from the state.\nTennessee Promise will also transfer any money remaining in the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program and transfer it to the Promise program, allowing no room to increase HOPE Lottery scholarship amounts, including the HOPE Access grants which provide an additional $1,375 per semester for students from households earning less than $36,000.\nHelping Keep Memphis at the Forefront of Medical Research\nThis week, I announced more than $1.8 million in federal funding for several research projects at the UT Health Science Center. You can read more about the specific grants, which will help keep our city at the forefront of medical research, here.\nCelebrating Constitution Day\nOur nation celebrated Constitution Day on Wednesday, and I spoke on the House Floor to commemorate the occasion. You can watch my speech here. I also visited Oakhaven Middle School on Monday morning and spoke with students there about what the Constitution means to me and how far we have progressed as a nation since our founding.\nProtecting Consumers Online\nAfter reports of businesses attempting to penalize customers who write negative reviews online, including one family who had their credit rating damaged when they refused to pay a fine for posting about a negative experience with a company, I joined with California Congressmen Eric Swalwell and Brad Sherman this week in introducing the Consumer Review Freedom Act to stop companies from using these kinds of anti-consumer tactics. I believe in the right to free speech. If a consumer feels they have received substandard services or products, they should be able to express that without the fear of being sued or having their credit rating damaged.\nFacebook Photo Contest\u00a0    \n\tFor the last several weeks, I\u2019ve been accepting submissions of photos that represent the Ninth District from Memphians who want their pictures highlighted as my next Facebook cover photo. I am pleased to announce the two finalists to be my next cover photo, which you can find here, from Memphians Marilyn Livesay and Robert McKim. You can vote on these photos by \u201cliking\u201d them on Facebook. The photo that receives the most likes will be my next cover photo.\nPresident Obama Seeking Mentors for Young People\u00a0  \n\tIt is important that all children can count on caring adults who are engaged in their lives, but too many young people lack this important support. That\u2019s why President Obama is calling on Americans to sign up as long-term mentors to young people through his new \u201cMy Brother\u2019s Keeper\u201d initiative. The President is seeking people from all walks of life who want to develop sustained and direct mentoring relationships that will play vital roles in the lives of young people in Memphis and around the country. If you are interested in signing up to help young adults in our city stay on track, you can do so\u00a0here.  Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property  \n\tThe State of Tennessee maintains a searchable database of unclaimed property, which can include bank accounts, stocks and dividends, wages, refunds, insurance payments, gift certificates, credit balances and overpayments, and a number of other things. There is no cost for accessing the database, and you may find that you are owed money or property. If you have not searched the database yet or if you haven\u2019t searched in a while, you can visit\u00a0https://www.claimittn.gov\u00a0and see for yourself whether the state is holding any property or assets for you. And you may pass this information along to your friends and family as well!\nAs always, I remain.\u00a0  \n\tMost sincerely,\n  \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/supporting-president-and-preventing-another-government-shutdown"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9696390479803085, "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"}