Judiciary

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today presided at a hearing on Enhancing the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938. The act requires agents or lobbyists for a "foreign principal" to register with the Department of Justice and provide certain documentary information about their relationships with foreign interests.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today spoke in favor of and voted for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. The measure removes cannabis from the list of federal controlled substances, raises revenue from sales to reinvest in communities disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs and expunges the records of federal criminal marijuana offenses.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today presided at the first in a series of hearings on reforming civil rights litigation by reviewing the doctrine of qualified immunity.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today addressed the House of Representatives and urged passage of his bill, the Prohibiting Punishment for Acquitted Conduct Act. The bill later passed the House on a vote of 405 to 12.

Congressmen Cohen and Kelly Armstrong (N.D., at large) introduced the measure last year to end the unjust practice of judges increasing sentences based on conduct for which a defendant has not been convicted.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today spoke from the House floor on the Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural (CROWN) Hair Act, that will prohibit discrimination on the basis of hair texture or styles commonly associated with a particular race or national origin. He later voted for the measure which passed the House 235 to 189.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today spoke from the House floor in favor of the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act during a debate on the measure and later voted for it. Congressman Cohen also took the occasion to explain that partisan blame for inflation and oil prices are misguided because they are worldwide problems, not something for which President Biden should be faulted.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, condemned violence and threats against public officials during a markup of the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act.

Congressman Cohen said in part:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, on Tuesday questioned expert witnesses at a hearing on "Reimagining Public Safety in the COVID-19 Era."

Congressman Cohen asked Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner about his city's use of the $350 billion authorized for police funding in the American Rescue Plan, noting that no Republican members of Congress voted for the measure. Houston received $45 million of that funding to augment its efforts, Turner said.