9th District

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today wrote to Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Will Reid urging him to prioritize the long overdue completion of repairs to Elvis Presley Boulevard. In his letter, the Congressman noted that continued delays and uncertainty have dragged this project on for over a decade. He emphasized the importance of Elvis Presley Boulevard for Whitehaven residents and the entire Memphis area.

The letter reads in part:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) tonight released a statement after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled that construction of a White House ballroom must cease until President Trump receives Congressional approval after demolishing the East Wing. The statement reads:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a Co-Chairman of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus, today wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator Terrance C. Cole seeking clarity on two drug policy implementation issues: rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act and implementing the scientific provisions of the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) in Fentanyl Act.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that Dr. Wei Li of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will receive a grant of $614,894 from the National Cancer Institute. The grant supports Dr. Li’s work targeting brain and bone metastases in metastatic breast cancer for improved patient survival through the development of new drugs more tailored to these types of cancers. 

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that Dr. Jonathan H. Jaggar of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) Department of Physiology will receive a grant of $596,176 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for research on chloride channels in endothelial cells. Chloride channels are a type of protein that allows chloride (Cl^-) to flow in and out of cells. Endothelial cells are the type of cells which line all blood vessels and form capillaries.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that Dr. Shannon L. McKinney-Freeman of the Hematology Department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will receive a grant of $673,150 for research on stem cell dysfunction in sickle cell disease from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. These types of stem cells – found in every person – give rise to all other types of blood cells. Part of the project’s goals are to develop new treatments for sickle cell disease.   

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) released the following statement in advance of President Trump’s scheduled visit to Memphis on Monday to discuss the work of the Memphis Safe Task Force, a multi-agency federal effort addressing crime since last September:

“With everything going on in the world – war in Iran and its disruption of oil shipments and gas price spikes, war in Ukraine, and who knows what in Venezuela and Cuba – the President has decided it’s a good time to come to Memphis and talk about the Memphis Safe Task Force. 

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today questioned leading intelligence officials at a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on threats to national security.

Congressman Cohen asked FBI Director Kash Patel about his firing of at least 12 FBI counterintelligence analysts with expertise on Iran days before the war broke out and whether they were terminated because of their role in investigating President Trump’s unauthorized storage of classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago bathroom.