Animal Welfare

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the Natural Resources Committee and a longtime member of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, released the following statement on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to round up wild horses on Sunday:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) again received the highest possible score from the Defenders of Wildlife on its 2020 Conservation Report Card for 14 critical votes during both sessions of the 116^th Congress.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"I'm dedicated to working hard to protect our wildlife and its habitats. I am proud and encouraged by this acknowledgement of my voting record by Defenders of Wildlife."

WASHINGTON – Representatives Steve Cohen (TN-09), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Vern Buchanan (FL-16) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) today led a letter with more than 100 Members of Congress asking Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to publish a rule to prevent the intentional harming of horses known as "soring" that the Obama Administration was days from publishing in 2017 when Vilsack previously served as Secretary. The rule was withdrawn by the Trump Administration.

MEMPHIS – Representatives Steve Cohen (TN-09), Dina Titus (NV-01) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) today re-introduced the Horse Transportation Safety Act that would ban the transportation of horses across state lines in "double decker" trucks or trailers containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. Congressman Cohen, a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, last year applauded the inclusion of the Horse Transportation Safety Act in the House-passed Moving Forward Act. Congressman Cohen has championed the measure since 2008.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) was pleased to announce today that he has been named to the House Natural Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over the nation's energy and mineral resources; national parks, public lands and wildlife refuges; wildlife conservation, clean water and outdoor recreation. One of Congress' oldest committees, it can trace its jurisdiction to the Public Lands Committee created in 1805.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Steve Cohen (TN-09) joined Reps. Dina Titus (NV-1), Brian Mast (FL-18) and 18 other House colleagues in introducing the bipartisan Cat Abuse in Testing Stops (CATS) Act to permanently end painful and unnecessary taxpayer-funded experiments on cats by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a longtime member of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, today led a letter to House Leadership requesting it retain his Interior and Environment appropriations amendment requiring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to utilize $11 million in funding for humane, reversible fertility control for tens of thousands of wild horses and burros under the BLM's protection.

The letter reads in part:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) released the following statement after learning of the passing of his friend, former State Senator Curtis Person: