Government Reform

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) tonight voted for the updated Heroes Act, which contains many of the provisions he has fought hard to have included in the measure addressing our ongoing health and economic catastrophe to protect lives, livelihoods and the life of our democracy. The $2.2 trillion measure is a scaled down version of the Heroes Act the House passed on May 15 but which the Senate has so far failed to consider.

Tonight's vote on passage was 214 to 207.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) went to the House floor this afternoon during the debate on the updated Heroes Act to denounce a provision slipped into the CARES Act passed in March that allowed a tax break to millionaires and billionaires for so-called "pass through" transactions.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its Subcommittee on Aviation, today voted to advance the Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act. The measure, informed by an 18-month committee investigation of the fatal crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019 and the certification process by which the aircraft were authorized for flight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), significantly improves aviation safety regulation and oversight.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today wrote to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for the second time, asking for clarification of his plan to forgive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans despite clear evidence that some were obtained by fraud. In today's letter, Congressman Cohen also asked Mnuchin to review coronavirus-related loans to businesses associated with President Trump in light of recent revelations that several businesses with ties to the president received millions of dollars in loans.

His letter reads in part:

WASHINGTON – 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 Oversight of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

In his opening statement, Chairman Cohen spoke of the division's failure to defend and, on some occasions, active efforts to erode Americans' voting rights. He said in part:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today led a letter with his Congressional colleagues asking Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles P. Rettig to extend the deadline and expand outreach efforts for an estimated 9 million people eligible for economic impact payments but whose incomes do not require that they file annual federal tax returns. The current deadline is October 15.

The letter reads in part:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today wrote to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asking that he reconsider blanket loan forgiveness for recipients of assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program after both the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service identified egregious instances of fraud. Congressman Cohen reminded Mnuchin of his public testimony on the issue of loan forgiveness and asked, in light of the fraud concerns, whether he has reversed his position.

The letter reads in part:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, this evening wrote to Attorney General William Barr asking that Memphis federal law enforcement officials be included in the Justice Department's body-worn camera pilot program. The request comes days after U.S. Marshals shot a Memphis teenager in an incident in which cameras were not in use.

Congressman Cohen's letter reads in part: