{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/weighing-action-syria", "Weighing Action in Syria", "2013-09-06", "2013", "2013-09", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear friend,\nAs you likely know, much attention this week has been focused on the growing turmoil in Syria\u2014and whether or not the United States should use its military power in an effort to lessen the Syrian regime\u2019s ability to use chemical weapons against its own people. I will continue listening to the people of the Ninth District and make sure that we know all the facts before deciding on this important issue. Keep reading for more information on Syria and to learn about what else has been happening this week.\nMore About Syria  Holding Delta Accountable  Celebrating Labor Day  Keeping Health Care Affordable  Celebrating Bishop Brandon B. Porter  Improving the Memphis Airport  More Grants for Memphis  Grant Announcements\nMore About Syria\nLast week, 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.\nI was glad that the President decided to seek Congressional approval before involving our military in Syria. Over the weekend, I attended a classified briefing with top officials from the Obama Administration and asked that the resolution authorizing the use of military force be curtailed to ensure that the President cannot put boots on the ground. Throughout this week, I have also paid close attention as House and Senate Committees have questioned both Secretary of State John Kerry as well as Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. I also appeared on Fox 13 earlier this week to talk about our options at this point.\u00a0And just minutes ago, I spoke again with the White House to receive more information and an update on the situation. Next Tuesday evening, President Obama will address the American people from the White House\u2014I look forward to hearing what he has to say.\nI am very concerned about going into Syria, but I am also very concerned about the message it sends if we do nothing. We are just getting out of two wars\u2014one we should not have started and one where we lost our focus and have stayed too long\u2014but the international community must make its voice heard in light of these horrific acts. I have spent the last week weighing all the information I\u2019ve received at classified briefings as well as your thoughts, and I will continue to do so.\nWhen Congress returns to Washington next week, it will begin debating a resolution authorizing the President to use military force in Syria. We don\u2019t know just yet when the House will be called to vote, but I will continue pressing the Administration for answers and information\u2014as well as continue listening to you\u2014before I cast a vote on this matter.\nHolding Delta Accountable\nOn Monday, Delta Airlines did what they had previously promised not to do and downgraded Memphis International Airport\u2019s hub status while cutting 29 more flights. Delta now only runs 64 flights each day, down from 240 at the time of the merger between Delta and Northwest. When I questioned Delta CEO Richard Anderson during a House Judiciary Committee Hearing about the merger, he told me that Memphis would benefit from his company\u2019s merger. He said we might even get a flight to Paris and that we\u2019d be able to keep the flight to Amsterdam.\nDelta lied to us. I have asked the Justice Department to examine Delta\u2019s anticompetitive practices and I\u2019ve expressed my concern about how future mergers will negatively impact consumers. I hope the Justice Department looks at what has happened with the Delta merger and\u00a0sees it for what it is: monopolistic conduct that doesn\u2019t benefit consumers or travelers.\nEarlier this week, I talked with Fox 13\u2019s Darrell Greene about Delta\u2019s disappointing and disingenuous move. I will keep working to do whatever I can to hold Delta accountable for their broken promises to Memphis. I also look forward to working with Southwest, JetBlue, other airlines and our business community to bring more carriers, routes, and flights to the Memphis airport.\nCelebrating Labor Day\nAfter a classified Syria briefing on Monday, I took a plane from Washington and went straight to a Labor Day Picnic at the Trinity Methodist Church on the corner of Galloway and Evergreen. Understandably, many people there were interested with the situation in Syria and I was happy to discuss how I felt about it as well as listen to their concerns.\nLabor Day celebrates America\u2019s hard-working, middle-class men and women, and I have been a longtime supporter of policies that will help them, like Social Security, child labor restrictions, and a fair minimum wage. I 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.\nKeeping Health Care Affordable\nThe Kaiser Family Foundation, a well-respected source of unbiased information about health care and health insurance, released a new report this week\u00a0that revealed what I\u2019ve known for several years: health insurance plans available through the Affordable Care Act\u2019s insurance marketplaces will be affordable for individuals and families across the country. According to the report, a 25-year old making $25,000 a year in New York City would pay as little as $62/month and a 60-year old couple making $30,000 could pay nothing out of pocket depending on where they live.\nWhile the Kaiser report did not include our state, it covered 17 others\u2014including both those that will operate their own marketplaces and those, like Tennessee, that will let the federal government run their marketplace. According to Bloomberg News, the report is \u201cthe broadest look yet at what consumers will pay for health insurance when the Affordable Care Act takes effect next year.\u201d I am glad that this information is now available, and I hope it will encourage more people to sign up for health insurance when the marketplace opens on October 1st.\nCelebrating Bishop Brandon B. Porter\nTuesday evening, I spoke at the inaugural service celebrating the historical ascension of the distinguished Jurisdictional Prelate, Bishop Brandon B. Porter, to the General Board of the Church of God in Christ. The ceremony was impressive and I am glad I was able to be there in person. Mrs. Ida M. Porter, the Supervisor of Women, Tennessee Central Jurisdiction (as well as Bishop Porter\u2019s mother), also sung at the ceremony and was clearly\u2014and justifiably\u2014proud of her son.\nImproving the Memphis Airport\nThis morning, I announced that Memphis International Airport will receive $10 million\u00a0in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for improvements and upgrades. The Memphis airport is a critically important transportation link in the Mid-South region and this funding will help ensure it can continue serving travelers safely and efficiently for many years to come. Delta may have lied to us about their plans for the airport, but it\u2019s critical to maintain its world-class standards as we work to attract additional airlines and routes.\nMore Grants for Memphis\nYesterday, I also announced that the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis was awarded more than $1.4 million\u00a0for three different projects. You can read more about the projects at the link above, but the funding will help the UT Health Science Center, and its skilled researchers, continue their important work.\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.\nGo Tigers! Beat Duke!\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/weighing-action-syria"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4677862636744976, "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"}