MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced Monday that all of his highest priority spending requests were included by subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee in their Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills.
Among the approved requests is $3 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for improvements to Tom Lee Park along the Mississippi River waterfront, which is included in the Energy and Water appropriations bill.
Congressman Cohen secured $750,000 for the Memphis ReStart Initiative, a multi-faceted small business development program that includes leadership training for Black managers, entrepreneurs and business owners, and identifies opportunities for Black businesses to thrive. The program is led by the Black Business Association of Memphis and the funding was included in the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.
He also requested funding for the Cocaine and Alcohol Awareness Program, Incorporated (CAAP Inc.) Community Corrections Program, which was included, at $671,000, in the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill. The funding would be used to support the community-based, residential, alternative-to-incarceration, corrections program that has a partnership with the Tennessee Department of Correction.
Congressman Cohen’s requests for funding for the purchase of equipment for the Regional One Medical Center, at $1 million; for educational and job opportunities for residents of Orange Mound and Binghampton at Christian Brothers University, at $400,000; and for facilities and equipment for the Church Health Center, at $350,000, were all included in the Labor and Health and Human Services appropriations measure.
Congressman Cohen advocated for the Collins Chapel Connectional Hospital to provide the first respite/recuperative care center in the Mid-South for homeless individuals who are medically fragile, which received $1,080,000; the Historic Melrose Redevelopment Project to invest in the redevelopment of the Historic Melrose High School and the Orange Mound Community, which received $3 million; the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Memphis Home repair program for low income seniors, which received $1 million; and Sadie B’s Kitchen at The Hospitality Hub to build a commercial kitchen in the shelter as well as provide two supplemental food trucks, which received $450,000. These projects were funded in the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill.
“I am always pleased to see federal funds directed where they are most needed, and will have the best results, in the 9th Congressional District. All of this directed spending is good for Memphis,” said Cohen.
The inclusion of this funding in the Appropriations Committee draft bill is the first step in the funding process. Congressman Cohen will continue to fight for this funding as the bill moves to the full Appropriations Committee, consideration on the House Floor, and negotiations with the Senate.
