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Cohen Sworn Into 113th Congress

January 3, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) was today sworn into the 113th Congress by House Speaker John Boehner in the U.S. Capitol. This is Congressman Cohen’s fourth term in Congress.

“It is a pleasure and an honor to represent Memphis and Shelby County in the House of Representatives,” said Congressman Cohen. “I will continue my work to create jobs, reduce the federal deficit, and bring more federal funds to Memphis. I will also re-introduce legislation that will help increase the quality of life for Memphians, including legislation to combat infant mortality, legislation to prohibit employers from using credit checks as part of the hiring process, and legislation to restore fairness in student lending by treating privately-issued student loans in bankruptcy the same as other types of unsecured debt.”

Congressman Cohen begins his fourth term representing the 9th District of Tennessee today. A seasoned and experienced legislator from his 24 years serving in the Tennessee Senate, Congressman Cohen quickly gained distinction during his freshman term for his legislative work. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi called him “the conscience of the freshman class” during his first term.

During his second term, Congressman Cohen was successful in getting legislation he authored – the Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage (SPEECH) Act – signed into law. The measure protects American authors, journalists and publishers from foreign defamation judgments that undermine the First Amendment and American due process standards.

During his third term, Congressman Cohen was successful in getting bipartisan legislation he authored -- the National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act of 2011 – signed into law. The measure created an exception to the means test’s presumption of abuse for members of the National Guard and Reserve who, after September 11, 2001, served on active duty or in a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days.