Government Reform

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, tonight expressed deep satisfaction at the passage of the groundbreaking George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which he believes will help build trust between police departments and the communities they serve. The measure contains major elements of bills Congressman Cohen authored, including the National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act, the Police CAMERA Act, and Police Training and Independent Review Act.

WASHNINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today went to the House floor to urge passage of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, emphasizing its redistricting and voting rights provisions.

In his remarks, Congressman Cohen said in part:

"This is an important and good bill. It's a comprehensive bill that takes in a lot of issues that are important to giving people their opportunity to vote and the people the opportunity to elect their leaders in a fair manner.

WASHINGTON -- Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today re-introduced the Civil Rights Enhancement and Law Enforcement Accountability Improvement Act. The measure would apply the doctrine of respondent superior to employers of a law enforcement officers. If enacted, the employer would be vicariously liable for officers' acts or omissions committed within the scope of their employment that deprive people of their constitutional rights.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on the Courts, today participated in a hearing on "The Need for Lower Court Judgeships – 30 Years in the Making." Congressman Cohen focused his questions to the panel of expert witnesses on the need for more federal appellate court judgeships and importance of a diverse federal judiciary that fully reflects the American people.

During his questioning, Congressman Cohen said:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today presided at a hearing on "H.R. 40: Exploring the Path of Reparative Justice." The hearing explored H.R. 40, which would create a commission to study and develop a proposal for reparations for African Americans first proposed more than 30 years ago by the late Congressman John Conyers of Michigan.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today presided over a hearing on "The Constitutional Means to Prevent Abuse of the Clemency Power." As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman Cohen has introduced joint resolutions in the current and previous Congresses to limit the pardon power outlined Article 2 of the Constitution.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, today participated in a hearing on "Protecting Transportation Workers and Passengers from COVID-19," describing failures he witnessed in enforcing mask mandates at airport terminals and in flight following the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. His questions elicited testimony indicating airports and airlines were not prepared for the belligerence and non-compliance of some passengers.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its Subcommittee on Aviation, today wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the results of mandated testing called for in the FAA Reauthorization Act's 2018 Cohen-authored Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act provisions. The testing to determine whether aircraft can be safely evacuated in the regulated minimum time permitted got under way after the bill's mandated deadline in 2019 and the results still remain unknown.