Memphis

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) today announced that President Obama has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Tennessee due to the Severe Winter Storms experienced across the state from March 2-4, 2014. All counties in the State of Tennessee are eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) this week joined Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Bob Corker (R-TN) as well as U.S. Representatives Jim Cooper (TN-05), Diane Black (TN-06), Marsha Blackburn (TN-07), and Stephen Fincher (TN-08) in calling on President Obama to make federal aid available to Shelby County and other areas of Tennessee to support recovery efforts following the severe winter storms of early March that adversely impacted communities throughout the region.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – As the April 15^th federal tax filing deadline quickly approaches, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today introduced the Tax Return Preparer Accountability Act to protect consumers from unscrupulous tax preparation businesses like Mo’ Money Taxes in the United States House of Representatives.

[WASHINGTON, DC] - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced today that University of Memphis Assistant Professor of Chemistry William Alexander was awarded $49,937 in federal funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a research project. The funding will be used to develop quantum chemical computational models able to accurately determine how hazardous chemicals interact with various natural and manmade materials surfaces present in domestic water systems.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the House Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, this morning pressed United States Attorney General Eric Holder on the Administration’s reluctance to change the federal government’s classification of marijuana and reminded him of his statutory authority to remove the drug from “Schedule I” of the Controlled Substances Act.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the House Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, this morning urged United States Attorney General Eric Holder to provide federal monitors for the upcoming elections in Shelby County. Video of this morning’s questioning is available here.

Bipartisan unemployment extension passed Senate by a vote of 59-38

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Following the U.S. Senate voting 59-38 to extend unemployment insurance, Congressman Steve Cohen today called on Speaker John Boehner to let the House vote on the Senate bipartisan compromise agreement as soon as possible. Despite the growing struggles for more than 41,000 Tennesseans, Speaker Boehner and House Republican leadership have blocked several Democratic efforts to extend the program and appear intent on blocking a vote on the Senate’s bipartisan compromise.