same period. Main Street to Main Street Multi-Modal Connector Project Cohen announced in 2012 that Memphis is to be awarded a $15 million TIGER IV Grant for the Main Street to Main Street Multi-Modal Connector Project. The project will add a dedicated sidewalk to the Harahan Bridge connecting Tennessee to Arkansas, allowing people to walk, run, or bicycle over the Mississippi River. The project has drawn praise from many in the business community, including FedEx founder Fred Smith. Helsinki Commission Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed Cohen to the Helsinki Commission in 2011. "Congressman Steve Cohen is a leader in promoting civil rights and opportunity of all Americans, and he brings this same passion to the promotion of human rights and democracy around the world", she said. "The Helsinki Commission is a focal point for security and cooperation among nations and leaders, and Congressman Cohen's voice is sure to strengthen and advance the commission's work." Armenian issues Although his family has no knowledge of any Turkish heritage, Cohen's mother's birth certificate states his maternal grandfather was born in Turkey when it was part of the Ottoman Empire. He is a member of the Congressional Caucus on US Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans. He had consistently opposed congressional recognition of the Armenian genocide on pragmatic grounds, believing that recognizing it officially in Congress would damage relations with Turkey. On August 6, 2008, one day before the Democratic Congressional Primary, a confrontation between California-based documentary filmmaker Peter Musurlian and Cohen erupted. During a press conference at Cohen's home, Musurlian was asked to leave by Cohen's staff and Cohen himself. Cohen then put both hands on Musurlian's arms and forced him out of the home after Musurlian refused to leave. In October 2017, Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, said, "Reps. Stivers, Cohen, and Sessions—in stripping out language about the Armenian Genocide from a bill about Turkish-Armenian relations—are, effectively, carrying Turkish President Erdogan’s water in Washington, advancing his shameful denial campaign even as he’s doubling down on his government’s anti-American actions and attitudes." 2011 Nazi controversy In a speech on the House floor on January 18, 2011, Cohen said of the Republican effort to repeal the Obama administration's health care reform law: They say it's a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like Goebbels. You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie,