This Week: Infant Mortality, High-Speed Rail, Auto Dealers, Min Wage Increase

Statement

This Week: Infant Mortality, High-Speed Rail, Auto Dealers, Min Wage Increase

This afternoon, the House approved my plan to increase funding to help public health officials gather vital statistical information to advance our understanding of infant mortality. Memphis has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country and we need understand its causes so we can craft prevention programs aimed at improving pre-natal care for pregnant women.

This modest $1 million increase for the National Center for Health Statistics in Fiscal Year 2010 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations Bill -- that passed the House today -is a step in the right direction.

This legislation gives our workers the tools they need to thrive in a new clean energy economy and provides aid to veterans and those workers that were recently affected by mass layoffs. At the same time, we fund new and existing programs to improve education for our young people and help them succeed in college and beyond. As the workforce of the future, we must ensure that they are ready for the challenges of a 21st century global economy.

I believe we need a much more aggressive federal commitment to fighting infant mortality and its causes, and I today filed legislation that would do just that.

Remembering When the Eagle Landed

Forty years ago, the peoples and countries of the world were united in our collective humanity as we huddled in front of television sets to watch the first human beings set foot on the moon.

On Monday, I was honored to represent our district at the commemoration of the first moon landing at the National Air and Space Museum. I was honored to represent our district. Along with the original Apollo 11 crew, 20 other astronauts, including former Senator John Glenn, and the new NASA Administrator (a four time astronaut himself) were in attendance. The highlight of the event was Kathleen Kennedy Townsend accepting the NASA Ambassador Award for her family's commitment to space exploration. Being there brought back a flood of memories of being a college student watching the landings.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I chaired two separate Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee hearings that focused on the recent bankruptcies of Chrysler and GM and their impact on auto dealers and consumers. The first hearing featured the nation's "Auto Czar." I raised with him the plight of a local Memphis Chrysler dealer, Mr. John Roy, who is being forced to close as a result of the company's bankruptcy reorganization.

Thursday's hearing featured Vice Presidents from GM and Chrysler, leading bankruptcy lawyers, Indiana's State Treasurer, a consumer whose medical lawsuit was cancelled as a result of Chrysler's bankruptcy, and four auto dealers.

All Aboard! Little Rock-Memphis High Speed Rail Study Closer to Being Completed

A feasibility study on the potential for high-speed rail between Memphis and Little Rock is one step closer to being funded. On Thursday, I succeeded in getting additional federal funding for the Federal Railroad Administration's Railroad Research and Development account that could be used to complete a Congressionally-approved study.

For our region, high speed rail will improve access between the largest cities in Tennessee and Arkansas. Investing in high-speed rail will further reduce our dependence on foreign oil, lower gas costs as well as congestion and accidents on our already overcrowded streets.

More importantly, investing in high-speed rail in our region means jobs - lots of them. Not just good-paying construction jobs, but the jobs that will be created from companies that chose to invest in Memphis because of the affordable and efficient transportation that high-speed rail can offer to their employees. This is a real win-win.

EXTRA…EXTRA…Hourly Workers Earn More Starting Today!

Ninth District hourly workers received a pay raise today when the federal minimum wage increases by 70 cents to $7.25 an hour.

Seventy cents may not seem like a lot, but over the course of a year, it's more than $1,100 that hard-working Tennesseans can put in their wallets to help cope with rising gas and food prices and increasing utility bills. Even more families may use the extra money to save for a home, pay down their debts or plan for the future. The bottom line is that every little bit helps

Our job is far from finished - I will continue to fight for more jobs, better benefits and higher wages for our district.

Let's Make a Deal - -Cash For Clunkers Up and Running

Looking for a reason to trade in that old, gas-guzzling vehicle for a new, more fuel efficient car or truck? Good news, the "Cash for Clunkers" rebate program officially starts today.

To learn more about the "Cash for Clunkers" program, please click here - or visit http://www.cars.gov

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