Last week, Congresman Lacy Clay (who represents Ferguson, Mo.) and I introduced a plan to end the use of excessive force by police officers, I defended a woman’s right to choose from House Republicans’ unconstitutional effort to ban abortions, Memphis lost former state Sen. Kathryn Bowers and the world lost legendary musician B.B. King.
Ending excessive police force: America received a sobering wake-up call last year in Ferguson, followed by other tragic events in Staten Island, Cleveland, North Charleston, and more recently in Baltimore. The need for reform is as clear as it is urgent.
The recent excessive force tragedies are not just instances of police brutality. The problem is deeper than that. We also have a flawed criminal justice system urgently in need of reform.
The Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2015 would help encourage incidents of deadly force used by police to be investigated and, if need be, prosecuted, by an independent entity as well as provide improved training for police officers.
Currently, these cases are rarely prosecuted effectively due to an obvious conflict of interest between local police and the prosecuting District Attorney, who relies on a close working relationship with those same police officers to carry out other prosecutorial duties.
See the legislation here: bit.ly/Cohen-police-violence.
Also see my op-ed in Blue Nation Review at http://bit.ly/Cohen-justice on what we can do to help address the root problems.
Improving infrastructure: The May 13 New York Times editorial, “Amtrak needs help,” gets it right. Our transportation infrastructure is decaying and I am very disappointed that just hours after this week’s deadly train derailment House Republicans voted to slash Amtrak’s budget.
We should support our nation’s infrastructure, not starve it of needed funding that could help save lives — not only on Amtrak, but also on our highways and bridges too. The Highway Trust Fund expires on May 31 unless Congress takes action.
See the NYT editorial online at bit.ly/Cohen-infrastructure.
Deaths of B.B. King and Kathryn Bowers: I was saddened to learn that B.B. King has passed away. He was from the Delta, but his career started at WDIA Radio in Memphis as the Beale Street Blues Boy disk jockey. B.B. was a legendary musician and gifted guitarist, but more than that he was simply a very, very, very nice man. He will be missed all over the world, especially in Memphis on Beale Street.
We also lost Kathryn Bowers, who was a great warrior for justice and fairness and for Memphis. She served more than a decade in the Tennessee General Assembly as a state representative and state senator and was always right on the issues. She was a tireless advocate for women, the poor and underserved, and those not represented by powerful interest groups. She was not afraid to speak truth to power. Kathryn was a friend who will be missed by many.
Protecting women’s reproductive rights: Last week, the House passed an unconstitutional assault on a woman’s right to choose [abortion] under the guise of protecting fetuses from pain. But, as a Republican colleague of mine admitted, their bill isn’t about fetal pain at all; it’s about making an end run around the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling and ending abortion.
Republicans couldn’t name a single group in the medical community that supports their bill.
Women should have the right to make decisions with advice from those they trust. Medical experts, not politics, should help women with these difficult decisions. Watch me speak out against this attack on women’s rights online at bit.ly/Cohen-womens-choice.
Helping patients with marijuana legislation: Three-year-old Chloe Grauer of Memphis suffered from debilitating seizures that could have been alleviated by cannabidiol (CBD), but the treatment was denied to her because of out-of-touch state and federal drug laws. CBD does not contain enough THC to produce a high, and it has been shown to work for similar medical conditions.
I am pleased that a healthcare issue like this is becoming more bipartisan by the day, and I commend Senators Gardner, Wyden, Isakson, Merkley, Hatch, and Bennet for introducing a bipartisan bill in the Senate to help children like Chloe, who passed away late last year, have access to this vital treatment. Read more at bit.ly/Cohen-epilepsy.
Grants for Memphis: The Memphis Health Center provides important health services and high-quality, affordable care to citizens throughout the Ninth District.
I was pleased to announce more than $3.7 million in federal funding for the Health Center last week, which will help it reduce health inequalities and disparities in Shelby County. Read more at bit.ly/Cohen-MHC.
Written by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). He may be reached at cohen.house.gov/contact-me.
