Judiciary
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, today questioned witnesses at a hearing on "Women and Girls in the Criminal Justice System."
During the question-and-answer session, Congressman Cohen asked Jesselyn McCurdy, Deputy Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office, about private prisons and their impact.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today introduced H. Res. 490, a resolution of censure against President Trump for his racist and xenophobic comments about freshman Democratic Members Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts.
The resolution is co-sponsored by Representatives Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Pressley and by Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, Yvette Clarke of New York, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Mark DeSaulnier of California and Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Congresswoman Val Demings (FL-10) today introduced the Safer Streets Act, which would create a new grant program to support local communities with high rates of violent crime. Afterward, Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
"The Safer Streets Act is intended to provide additional funding to address violent crime in places where the rate is significantly above the national average – places like Memphis. I'm pleased my colleague Val Demings, the former Chief of Police of Orlando, joins me in introducing the measure.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, today voted to authorize two sets of subpoenas. The first seeks documents regarding the Trump administration child separation policy and conditions on our southwestern border. The second set are subpoenas for President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and nine others who may have been witnesses to the President's obstruction of justice or abuse of power. The committee vote was 21-12.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and a member of its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, today questioned expert witnesses on marijuana policy at a hearing on "Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform."
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, today joined 67 House Members in asking President Trump to demand the resignation of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta. Acosta was the U.S. Attorney for South Florida when he secretly arranged an extremely lenient plea agreement for billionaire Jeffrey Epstein after he was charged with trafficking underage girls. Epstein was recently indicted on similar charges in New York.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today observed the 55th anniversary of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) reacted to today's 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to resolve the issue of partisan gerrymandering by pointing to a Congressional solution to the problem: his H.R. 124, the John Tanner Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today sent a letter to President Trump recommending he commute the sentences of non-violent drug offenders. See the letter here.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, presided over a hearing on "Continuing Challenges to the Voting Rights Act Since Shelby County v. Holder." The Act, repeatedly reauthorized on a bipartisan basis, most recently in 2006, was undermined by the 2013 ruling in the Shelby County case. The Act has not been reauthorized since the ruling because bipartisan support has evaporated.
In his opening statement Chairman Cohen said: