January 19, 2024

Dear Friend,

This week, I again voted for a temporary spending measure to keep the federal government operating as the ongoing Republican Majority dysfunction prevents substantive legislative accomplishment. I also announced $17.3 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to rebuild Crestview Middle School in Covington, destroyed in last year’s tornadoes; commended Rutgers University and its Camden campus Chancellor for their commitment to attracting Memphis high school graduates to the prestigious New Jersey school; announced $2 million in emergency HIV/AIDS funding for Shelby County; announced a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and offered a health tip about the ongoing cold snap. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens.

Voting Again to Avert a Federal Government Shutdown

Announcing $17.3 Million in FEMA Funding to Rebuild Crestview Middle School in Covington

Attending Portuguese Embassy and American Jewish Committee Commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day

Commending Rutgers University Memphis Pipeline Project

Announcing $2 Million Emergency HIV/AID Program Grant to Shelby County

Announcing $409,500 NIH Grant to St. Jude

Weekly Health Tip

Quote of the Week

Voting Again to Avert a Federal Government Shutdown

On Thursday, I joined my Democratic colleagues in voting again to avert a federal government shutdown. It’s clear the Republican Majority cannot govern, as it couldn’t pass the measure on its own and would not have been able to avert this crisis without Democrats’ help. See my release here. This process is becoming pathetic. It’s time to pass annual appropriations bills to fund the government through September 30. Kicking this can down the road is not good for efficient governing or for the American economy. Here’s hoping this litany of Republican failures will be remembered in November.

Announcing $17.3 Million in FEMA Funding to Rebuild Crestview Middle School in Covington

On Tuesday, I announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will invest $17,338.355 to rebuild the Crestview Middle School in Covington destroyed by last Spring’s tornadoes. Now that I represent the area in Congress, I have been helping coordinate the response to that natural disaster and other needs in Tipton County. See my release here.

Attending Portuguese Embassy and American Jewish Committee Commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

On Thursday, I attended a reception hosted by the Embassy of Portugal and the American Jewish Committee commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is Saturday, January 27. The event focused on a little-known Portuguese diplomat, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who helped untold numbers of refugees escape Nazi-occupied Europe and make their way to neutral Portugal, and freedom, in defiance of his own government’s directive not to help them. Some say he engaged in the largest rescue operation by a single individual during the Holocaust. The event was an inspiration and reminds us that we must never forget.

Commending Rutgers University Memphis Pipeline Project

I was pleased to see the story in The Daily Memphian about Rutgers University’s outreach to Memphis high schools in what its Chancellor, Antonio Tillis, a graduate of Central High School, is calling the Memphis Pipeline Project. I placed a statement in the Congressional Record commending the effort. See that statement here.

Announcing $2 Million Emergency HIV/AID Program Grant to Shelby County

On Wednesday, I announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide $2,058,400 to Shelby County’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS program. See that release here.

Announcing $409,500 NIH Grant to St. Jude

Also Wednesday, I announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will underwrite research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. See that release here.

Weekly Health Tip

This week’s extreme weather and low temperatures prompt a reminder that cold is a dangerous health condition. Hypothermia and frostbite can occur for those too long exposed to the unusually low temperatures we’ve been experiencing in the Mid-South. Get anyone with symptoms into a warm room and make sure they get out of wet clothes. Other guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can be found here.

Quote of the Week

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” – Dolly Parton, born on this day in 1946

As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress