Judiciary

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) expressed sadness at yet another child killed in gun violence – this time, 12-year-old Tytkeanna James on Tuesday – and urged all gun owners to be more attentive to the safe storage and handling of firearms and to consider using gun-trigger locks available at all Memphis Police Department precincts. He made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, expressed disappointment at the House Majority's decisions to prevent his amendments that would have prohibited certain federal spending at businesses owned by President Trump from receiving a floor vote. He released the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), who serves as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today introduced a series of amendments to a pending spending bill that would prohibit federal spending at Trump-owned businesses, including hotels and resorts. The amendments were offered to an annual appropriations measure that addresses spending on Energy & Water, Legislative Branch and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs that is expected be taken up next week.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today commended Governor Bill Haslam for signing a bill into law ending the practice of housing juvenile pretrial detainees in adult prison and called on Congress to pass the No Money Bail Act (H.R. 1437) to help stop the practice of conditioning pretrial release on a defendant's ability to pay. Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, said today that the committee has misplaced its priorities with a bill, advanced during Washington's annual "Police Week," that would ease restrictions for police to carry guns into Social Security offices on personal errands, when the Senate has now confirmed Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) decried the treatment of a 16-year-old Memphis girl who has not been convicted but was held 40 days at the adult West Tennessee State Penitentiary before her bail was posted by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, a national human rights organization. The Congressman made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – President Trump finally made a call to James Shaw Jr., the hero who disarmed the April 22 Nashville Waffle House shooter, on Monday, a day after Steve Cohen (TN-09) chided Trump for not having done so in an MSNBC interview Sunday. The Congressman made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) went to the House floor this afternoon to commend recent acts of heroism by Southwest Airlines Pilot Tammie Jo Shults and Waffle House patron James Shaw Jr. whose courageous acts saved lives. See his remarks here.

"Malevolent actions and accidents give an opportunity for people to rise to heroic actions," Congressman Cohen said. "America is a country familiar with heroes."