Judiciary

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, today spoke in favor of, and voted in the Committee to advance to the House floor, the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, or CROWN Act. The measure would prohibit discrimination based on race-based hair styles by extending statutory protection in the workplace to hair texture and protective styles such as braids, twists and knots.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today voted for, and the House passed, the Strength in Diversity Act, which would expand existing educational diversity initiatives.

The vote was 248 to 167.

After the vote, Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"Diversity in our schools strengthens our democracy and improves educational outcomes. This bill advances good ideas in public policy and expands initiatives that are already proven successes stories. I'm pleased to vote for this measure and hope to see it enacted into law."

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today called upon Attorney General William Barr to publicly correct false statements he made in a CNN interview regarding alleged fraudulent mail-in voting. Barr's office has acknowledged he cited a non-existent federal indictment and mischaracterized the facts of a minor state prosecution in Texas.

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:

MEMPHIS -- To commemorate the 57^th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) made the following statement:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today commemorated the 100^th anniversary of the formal certification of the 19^th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. Last week, on August 18, Congressman Cohen celebrated Tennessee's General Assembly vote in 1920 to become the 36^th state to ratify the amendment, which gave it the required approval of three-fourths of the states. Today's commemoration recognizes the U.S.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) and State Senator Raumesh Akbari (District 29) today condemned a bill signed into law last week that makes it a felony to protest on the grounds of the state Capitol. The measure also imposes mandatory minimum jail sentences for assaulting a first responder or participating in a riot. It also enhances penalties for vandalism of government property.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), who as a Tennessee State Senator sponsored legislation to create and served on the Women's Suffrage Commission for the 75^th anniversary and championed the public art inside the state Capitol in recognition of Tennessee's historic role in ratifying the 19^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and women's right to vote on this date in 1920, today commemorated the 100^th anniversary of the occasion and made the following statement: