Homeland Security

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), who was in the House Chamber when a riotous mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, today spoke on the House floor in favor of the bipartisan January 6 Commission modeled on the 9/11 Commission that reviewed the September, 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In his remarks from the floor, Congressman Cohen said in part:

WASHINGTON – Representatives Steve Cohen (TN-09), Barbara Lee (CA-13) and Bobby L. Rush (IL-01) will hold a virtual forum on the FBI's notorious COINTELPRO program recently featured in the Academy Award-winning film "Judas and the Black Messiah," which dramatizes the FBI-orchestrated assassination of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in 1969. The forum will be on Monday, May 10, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Judiciary Committees, has reintroduced the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Second Screening Act. The bill would permit passengers being screened at TSA checkpoints to opt for a second electronic screening, rather than an automatic physical pat-down, when they believe they have produced a false positive result because of inadvertent movement or mistakenly having a foreign object in a pocket.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today presided at a hearing on "the Need to Expand Eligibility Under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act." The hearing explored the impact of downwind and other radiation exposure from nuclear bomb testing and uranium mining and other uranium workers during the Second World War and during the Cold War, and the need to compensate the many victims not currently eligible under RECA.

During his opening statement, Congressman Cohen said:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today voted for, and the House passed, the Dream and Promise Act, providing a path to citizenship for young people brought to this country as children. Before the vote, Congressman Cohen spoke from the House floor during debate on the measure.

In those remarks, he said, in part:

"These Dreamers are trained in America. They've been educated in America. They're talented. They're smart.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today wrote to President Biden urging that he direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rescind its recently issued nationwide permit to Valero Energy and All Plains American for its proposed Byhalia Connection Pipeline. This pipeline cuts through historic, predominantly Black neighborhoods and crosses over the Memphis Sand Aquifer which could potentially irreparably contaminate the City of Memphis' source of drinking water.

The letter reads in part:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will receive a grant of $1,147,312 for emergency protective measures related to COVID-19 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In response to the ongoing pandemic, St. Jude has had to take extra precautions since all its patients are considered high-risk due to underlying health conditions or treatments which cause immune system compromise.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, today expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the work of the U.S. Capitol Police, National Guard troops and federal and local law enforcement officials in ensuring the safety of the President-elect and Vice President-elect, Members of Congress, dignitaries and the public in preparation for Wednesday's historic Inaugural events.