Newsletter - Addressing and Preventing Youth Violence

Statement

Dear Friend,

This week marks the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I announced funding to address and prevent youth violence in Memphis, I welcomed the Deputy Agriculture Secretary to our city, and I also announced more than $7 million for new job training programs that will help improve the Memphis economy. Keep reading to learn more about what happened this week.

Addressing and Preventing Youth Violence

As we have recently witnessed, more must be done to address and prevent youth violence in Memphis and to keep our community safe. That's why on Wednesday morning I announced a total of $834,460 in two grants to fight this scourge on our community. This funding is in addition to $850,000 to fight youth violence in schools that I announced last month, and I hope it will be a valuable asset as we work to address the underlying causes of youth violence and prevent bad behavior before it becomes a bigger problem.

Shedding Light on Food Insecurity and Memphis Food Deserts

On Tuesday, I welcomed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden to Memphis and toured South Memphis Farmers Market, an outgrowth of St. Andrews A.M.E. and its Pastor, Dr. Ken Robinson, with her. Deputy Secretary Harden visited our city to highlight the opening of the application period for the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant program--a program that encourages SNAP participants to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables--and to shed light on the important issues of food insecurity and inadequate access to fresh, healthy foods.

Unfortunately, these are issues that too many Memphians--and too many Americans--face. We should do all that we can to keep children and families healthy, and that is one reason why I have introduced the Supermarket Tax Credit for Underserved Areas Act. My bill would help reduce the prevalence of food deserts and help ensure that healthy, fresh food is available throughout the nation, including in urban areas, by providing tax incentives for the establishment of supermarkets in empowerment zones and formerly designated renewal communities. I will continue to work closely with the Deputy Secretary and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to increase access to fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables and reduce food insecurity.

Cutting Through the Memphis Rape Kit Backlog

This week, President Obama signed the Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2014 into law. The law authorizes several grant programs that help local law enforcement agencies solve rape and other violent crime cases. I am glad that the President signed this important legislation into law, but we must do more to cut through the backlog of untested rape kits that is bigger in Memphis than anywhere else in the country.

Sexual assault cases must be handled in a thorough and timely manner to obtain justice for the victims and to prevent future assaults on others. Because of this, I have been working to help police departments cut through their backlogs, and am pleased that earlier this year the House of Representatives passed an amendment that I introduced to provide more federal resources to local law enforcement agencies specifically to address their rape kit backlogs. The Senate Appropriations Committee has also included my $5 million rape kit backlog reduction provision, and I hope the full Senate passes it soon.

We know that, if tested, these rape kits could have helped catch perpetrators and prevent additional attacks. We must do more to cut through this backlog to give victims the justice they deserve and to keep our communities safe from predators. Adding federal funding to help cut down the nation's backlog improves the chances that Memphis will receive the resources it needs to do the same. My provision to provide additional funding to reduce the rape kit backlog is a step in the right direction.

Developing Our Workforce

This week, I announced more than $7.3 million in federal funding for new job training and workforce development programs in Memphis. Southwest Tennessee Community College will receive more than $4 million to develop, expand, and enhance innovative career training programs in the healthcare, transportation, and logistics industries. William R. Moore College of Technology and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology will receive a total of more than $3.25 million to participate in a partnership led by Mid-South Community College focused on developing a regional training program for the manufacturing, transportation, and logistics industries. This significant federal investment will help prepare Memphians with the skills they need to gain good-paying jobs in our modern economy and is another important step towards improving the Memphis economy and creating jobs in our city.

Building a Healthier Memphis and Fighting Breast Cancer and Infant Mortality

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the racial disparity in breast cancer outcomes in Memphis and throughout the county is deplorable, but we can do more to address it. This year, I launched my "Building a Healthier Memphis" series on wellness in the Ninth District with a panel discussion and educational session focused on this important issue. The panel at my event earlier this year discussed the reasons for the current outcome gap and helped identify how Memphians can take advantage of provisions of the President's Affordable Care Act that include no copay and no deductible mammograms to address the disparity and improve outcomes for themselves, their families, and their communities. I look forward to continuing my work to reduce the racial disparities in breast cancer outcomes in Memphis.

My "Building a Healthier Memphis" event in July focused on infant mortality, another problem that plagues our city. Since I arrived in Congress, I have raised awareness of this issue by hosting briefings for my colleagues on Capitol Hill and pursuing measures that provide more funding for preventive programs. I also authored the NEWBORN Act, a bill that would create 15 pilot projects across the country to address the issue of infant mortality in cities like Memphis that suffer at the greatest rates. Over the weekend, I spoke at the Sisters-In-Motion 5th annual run, which helps support Christ Community Health Services, to bring more attention to the ways that the Affordable Care Act is helping reduce infant mortality across the country. These include making comprehensive preventive services and other women's services available without a copay or deductible to everyone who has health insurance coverage.

Helping Reduce Veteran Homelessness in Memphis

It is a tragedy that any of our veterans in Memphis and throughout the country are homeless. I was pleased to be able to announce that the Memphis Housing Authority now has the resources it needs to provide additional vouchers to homeless veterans and their families so that they can find and afford more permanent housing in our community. These vouchers are just one way we can give back to the veterans who gave so much for us and a step toward the goal of having no homeless veterans in America.

Welcoming Memphians to My Capitol Hill Office

This morning, a group of Memphians including Kaye Jackson (center) visited Capitol Hill and I was pleased to be able to facilitate a tour of the Capitol building for them. I am glad they were able to have this experience while they visited our nation's capital.

Reducing Racial Disparities in the Justice System

From the biased use of "stop and frisk' policies to the impact of unfair mandatory minimum sentences on minority communities, there is widespread evidence that racial disparities pervade our criminal justice system. These disparities undermine confidence in the system, threaten the cause of justice, and cannot continue in a society that holds fairness and equality in high regard.

At a recent panel discussion held at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference, NAACP President Cornell William Brooks singled out a bill I introduced in Congress, the Justice Integrity Act, as something that would help alleviate these problems. My bill would create an advisory group in each of ten United States judicial districts headed by the U.S. Attorney for that district to examine racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system and develop solutions for reducing or eliminating them. The bill would also require the Attorney General to submit a comprehensive report to Congress at the end of the program, outlining the results from all ten districts and recommending best practices. I look forward to fighting for this important legislation's passage and will continue fighting to reduce racial disparities in our justice system.

Fighting Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is not just a women's issue, it's a human rights issue, and men must be a part of the solution. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, one in four women will be a victim at some point in her lifetime. More than one in three women have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime and about 7 million women are raped or physically assaulted by a current or former partner each year.

Yesterday, I spoke at Joyce Parkinson Kyles' Walk Into a New Life event on addressing domestic violence in Memphis because how we respond as a community to this problem speaks volumes about who we are as a society. It is not good enough to take the attitude that boys will be boys, or the even more insidious "she deserved it" position. As Vice President Biden--who has been a leader on this issue and led the effort to pass the Violence Against Women Act 20 years ago--recently pointed out, "It's never, never, never the woman's fault." The Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, takes a comprehensive approach to addressing domestic violence providing federal assistance to the criminal justice system, the social services system, and community-based organizations to work together to combat abuse and treat survivors. And it has been a proven success: Between 1993 and 2010, the number of women killed by an intimate partner declined 30%, and intimate partner violence dropped 67% during the same period.

Since Vice President Biden led the effort to pass VAWA, our nation has made enormous strides in reducing domestic and sexual violence. While the law was reauthorized twice with strong bipartisan support, that bipartisanship came to an end when the law needed to be reauthorized last year. The Senate passed a strong bipartisan bill but House Republicans forced through a much weaker bill that failed to protect certain vulnerable populations. Eventually, public pressure was so great that House Republicans allowed a vote on the Senate bill, which passed overwhelmingly with my support, and the President signed it into law soon after. But every day, thousands of women still feel unsafe in their own homes and we must do everything we can to care for the survivors of abuse and to prevent abuse in the future. I was proud to join Walking Into a New Life this week and to recommit to the fight against domestic violence in all its forms.

Protecting Horses from Abuse

How we treat animals is a direct reflection of our character, both as individuals and as a society. And when we allow the mistreatment and disrespect of any conscious being, we also devalue our own humanity. Recently, Horse Haven of Tennessee awarded me with their 2014 Public Servant trophy for my dedication to equine welfare, including my sponsorship of the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, or the PAST Act, which would help ensure that horses are treated humanely and prevent animal abuse. I am honored to be recognized with this award. With two-thirds of the House and a majority of the Senate already in support of the PAST Act, I hope that House Republican leaders bring it up for a vote as soon as possible.

Helping Keep College Affordable

With young adults from across the Ninth District heading to college, I wanted to take a few moments to highlight the various federal aid programs that are available for students and their families to take advantage of. If you are attending college and are interested in learning more about financial student aid that may be available, please don't hesitate to visit StudentAid.gov. If you are trying to help a child or friend afford college, there are a number of resources available at http://www.financialaidtoolkit.ed.gov/tk/ as well.

Memphis Accepting the President's My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge

President Obama announced his "My Brother's Keeper" (MBK) initiative earlier this year to help ensure youth across the country, including boys and young men of color, have opportunities to overcome barriers to succeeding in life and to improving their lives. Just recently, the President announced the MBK Community Challenge to encourage communities to implement a coherent cradle-to-college and career strategy aimed at improving life outcomes for all young people. I am pleased that Memphis is an early acceptor of this challenge which aims to ensure that all children enter school prepared and read at grade level by the 3rd grade and ensure that all young people graduate from high school, complete a post-secondary education, are safe from crime, and that youth who are out of school are employed.

Make Sure to Claim Unclaimed Property

The 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't searched in a while, you can visit https://www.claimittn.gov and 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!

As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress

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