Congressman Cohen Votes on Three Major “Minibus” Appropriations Bills

WASHINGTON - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today voted for major spending bills for the Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development departments.

All of the appropriations bills considered today passed the House.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"Today's votes assure that most government operations will stay functional past the January 30 deadline and avoid the kind of disruptions we had last year with the 43-day government shutdown, and that's a good thing. These bills contain a number of provisions worth millions that I've championed for Tennessee's 9^th Congressional District, including restoration of the historic Clayborn Temple that burned down last April."

Specifically in Tennessee's 9^th Congressional District, the Housing bill contains $3,150,000 for the Historic Clayborn Temple Restoration Project; $1,200,000 for the Historic Mason Temple Restoration Project, $1,200,000 for the Historic Sterick Renovation Project, $1 million for Covenant Gardens Senior Apartments, $850,000 for Monroe Plaza, $850,000 for electrical infrastructure upgrades for Montgomery Plaza, $850,000 for University of Memphis Park Avenue campus upgrades, $850,000 for renovations for vulnerable family housing, $250,000 for Memphis Homeless Veterans Homes Renovation project, $250,000 for improvements at Southwest Tennessee Community, and $4,250,000 for modernization and seismic retrofits for the Memphis International Airport (a shared request with Congressman David Kustoff (TN-8)).

The bills include funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), biomedical and cancer research, including $90 million for research on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, the U.S. Agency for International Development polio program, community health centers, low-income energy assistance (LIEAP), Head Start programs, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Section 8 housing voucher program, public housing , housing for the disabled and elderly, and homeless assistance.

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