Dear Friend,

This week, the weather kept most of us indoors. This was an in-district work week for me, but due to the Odell Horton Federal Building being closed for safety reasons, I had to cancel my in-person meetings. In Washington, the Senate is working to avert or keep short a partial government shutdown as members negotiate over annual Homeland Security funding, and I’ve been following those talks with colleagues. I also was pleased to see that three major law enforcement initiatives that I sought funding for -- worth more than $3 million -- were signed into law, continued to call for federal immigration policy reforms including the unmasking of ICE agents, announced a National Institute on Aging grant to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for Alzheimer’s research, scheduled an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Tax Preparation clinic for Saturday, February 7, and offered a health and safety tip, a Friday Flashback, and a Bill Day cartoon. Keep reading and follow me on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens

Digging Out and Warming Up

Welcoming More than $3 Million in Federal Funding for Local Law Enforcement Initiatives

Calling for Federal Immigration Policy Reforms

Announcing Alzheimer’s Disease Research Grant to St. Jude

Rescheduling a Free Tax Preparation Clinic for Saturday, February 7

Weekly Health Tip

The Friday Flashback

A Bill Day Cartoon

Quotes of the Week

Digging Out and Warming Up

This week, with temperatures mostly below freezing, the weather kept most of us indoors. This was an in-district work week for me, but when the Odell Horton Federal Building was closed for safety reasons, I had to reschedule many of my in-person meetings. I’ll be returning to Washington on Monday as a good part of the country tries to thaw out and get back to normal.

Welcoming More than $3 Million in Federal Funding for Local Law Enforcement Initiatives

Three major law enforcement initiatives for which I sought more than $3 million through the annual appropriations process have now been signed into law. The Memphis Police Department will see equipment upgrades, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the YWCA of Greater Memphis Domestic Violence Shelter/Safe Space, will receive victim-witness program support, and the City of Memphis will receive funding for its youth violence prevention program in partnership with Heal 901 and Pure Academy, with each initiative receiving $1,031,000. See my release on the funding here. On Friday, I also announced a Department of Justice grant of $499,996 for Regional One’s Rx for Change, a hospital-based victim services initiative in Shelby County that provides comprehensive support services to crime victims of gun violence and other violent behaviors.

Calling for Federal Immigration Policy Reforms

The killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis has focused the nation’s attention on the Trump administration’s goon squads and their unacceptable tactics.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol are out of control. They are killing civilians and arresting children.  Right now, the attention is on Minneapolis, but it could be Memphis. That is why I have repeatedly called for ICE to leave our city. To keep us all safe, significant procedural reforms such as the issuance of warrants for arrests, the unmasking of the federal officers, and the discontinuation of the use of chemical agents against peaceful protestors, are urgently needed. Without them, I cannot support a single dollar going to these lawless agencies. I am also one of more than 150 Democrats who has signed onto an impeachment resolution for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Announcing Alzheimer’s Disease Research Grant to St. Jude

On Monday, I announced that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will receive a grant of $758,781 from the National Institute on Aging to study Alzheimer’s Disease. See details in my release here.

Inviting Taxpayers to an Earned Income Tax Credit and Tax Preparation Clinic Saturday, February 7

The free tax preparation clinic I planned to host with the United Way of the Mid-South’s Tomeka Hart Wigginton and representatives of the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, scheduled for Saturday, January 31, had to be rescheduled because of weather conditions. That clinic will now be combined with guidance on using the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on Saturday, February 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Southland Mall. Visit this link to RSVP. We hope to see you there.

Weekly Health Tip

Keeping those faucets dripping to avoid burst pipes is important during these days of below-freezing temperatures. Many also employ space heaters to warm indoor living space, but too often we hear about accidents involving the appliances. Consumer Reports and Better Homes and Gardens provide safety tips on their use here and here.

The Friday Flashback

This is me with Priscilla Presley, Jack Soden and County Mark Luttrell at the Elvis Presley Forever postage stamp issuance event at Graceland on August 12, 2015.

A Bill Day Cartoon – “10 Bullets”

Quotes of the Week

“Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice

Singing through the bloody mist

We'll take our stand for this land

And the stranger in our midst

Here in our home, they killed and roamed

In the winter of '26

We'll remember the names of those who died

On the streets of Minneapolis...

Trump's federal thugs beat up on

His face and his chest

Then we heard the gunshots

And Alex Pretti lay in the snow

Their claim was self-defense, sir

Just don’t believe your eyes

It's our blood and bones

And these whistles and phones

Against Miller and Noem's dirty lies" 

-- Bruce Springsteen, “Streets of Minneapolis,” a protest song released Wednesday

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have too much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” – from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Second Inaugural Address in 1937. FDR was born on this day in 1882.

As always, I remain…

Sincerely,

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress