Memphis

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today welcomed the choice of Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago as the first American pope to be known as Leo XIV, and made the following statement:

“I am very pleased to welcome the first American pope in history, a man from Chicago, my mother’s hometown. He has the potential to follow in Francis’ footsteps, caring for the sick, the poor and the disabled. I hope to see him visit Memphis. It was Cardinal Archbishop Samuel Stritch of Chicago who told Danny Thomas to build St. Jude in Memphis.”

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, today announced that the Memphis-Arkansas-Mississippi urban area will receive $18,246,472 in the current fiscal year from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

The state of Tennessee will receive $132,363,425 in funding through FTA formula programs statewide.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Representatives Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee and a passionate advocate of passenger rail service; Dina Titus (NV-1), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, and Hillary Scholten (MI-3), a member of the T&I Committee, today introduced a bill to reauthorize the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (FSP) Program through Fiscal Year 2031. Currently, authorization for FSP is set to expire at the end of Fiscal Year 2026.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) noted the acquittal of three former Memphis police officers charged in the beating death of Tyre Nichols this afternoon and made the following statement:

“I am disappointed with the verdicts. But as an attorney, I understand the role of a jury in our system of justice and the verdicts must be respected. These former officers were found guilty in federal court so justice will be done.”

# # #

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that the University of Memphis will receive a $1,463,502 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the genetics of polar bear hair, skin color and adaptations to the Arctic environment under the direction of Associate Professor Emily Puckett of the Department of Biological Sciences.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at a joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance and the Subcommittee on Oversight entitled “Federal Corrections in Focus: Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons.”

WASHINGTON – Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-9) and Jim McGovern (MA-2) along with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island today introduced a resolution condemning President Trump’s continual attacks on the free press. The resolution calls for the Executive Branch to respect the rights of journalists and allow them to perform their duties “without fear of retaliation.”  The United States must reaffirm its commitment to preserving and protecting freedom of the press as a cornerstone of democracy.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9), Co-Chairman Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Congressman Marc Veasey (D-TX) tonight welcomed the House passage of the bipartisan Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence (MEGOBARI) Act.