Spending on local projects will be victories for Memphis

City has distinct and special needs and priority list of projects for 9th Congressional District

This month, all my local community project requests—totaling more than $11.7 million—were included in this year's spending bills.

They focus on local health care, homelessness and minority opportunities and provide substantial funding for improvements to Tom Lee Park on the Mississippi River waterfront to enhance our city's tourism and recreation.

These are victories for Memphis.

For the first time in ten years, a House rules change restores the ability of members of Congress to direct a portion of federal spending to projects in their districts.

Memphis has distinct and special needs and the list of my ten priority projects for Tennessee's 9th Congressional District reflects our community's pressing concerns. They include:

• $3 million for improvements to Tom Lee Park on the waterfront.

• $3 million for the Historic Melrose Redevelopment Project to invest in the redevelopment of the Historic Melrose High School and the Orange Mound Community.

• $1,080,000 for the Collins Chapel Connectional Hospital to provide the first

These priorities will make major improvements in people’s lives while bolstering our growing economy and creating or supporting good jobs.

respite and recuperative care center in the Mid-south for homeless individuals who are medically fragile.

• $400,000 for educational and job opportunities for residents of Orange Mound and Binghampton at Christian Brothers University.

• $750,000 for the Restart Initiative, small business development program that includes leadership training for Black managers, entrepreneurs and business owners, and identifies opportunities for Black businesses to thrive.the program is led by the Black Business Association of Memphis.

• $671,000 for the Cocaine and Alcohol Awareness Program, Incorporated (CAAP Inc.) Community Corrections Program. 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 Corrections.

• $450,000 for Sadie B’s Kitchen at The Hospitality Hub to build a commercial kitchen in the shelter as well as provide two supplemental food trucks.

• $1 million for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) for home repairs for low-income senior citizens.

• $1 million for purchasing equipment for the Regional One Medical Center.

• $350,000 for facilities upgrades and equipment for the Church Health Center.

These projects all made it through the first stage of the annual appropriations process. In the weeks ahead, the House is expected to vote on the annual spending bills for the upcoming fiscal year. They also must pass the United States Senate before President Biden can sign them into law.

These priorities will make major improvements in people’s lives while bolstering our growing economy and creating or supporting good jobs. I’m proud of the success we have had so far and look forward to seeing these improvements take shape right here in Memphis.

Congressman Steve Cohen represents Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District.

JOE RONDONE/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL Rep. Steve Cohen looks over the closed Hernando De Soto bridge which carries Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee.

COMMERCIAL APPEAL Unapologetic and Tone plan multi-million dollar development in former United Equipment Building in Orange Mound.