Financial Services and Banking
In light of the Great Recession of 2008, during which Memphis and the nation suffered an unprecedented foreclosure crisis in large part due to unfair, under-regulated and predatory mortgage lending practices, Congressman Cohen strongly supports efforts to prevent future foreclosure crises and dangerous housing market practices.
During the years preceding the mortgage crisis, too many mortgages were made to consumers without regard to the consumer's ability to repay the loans. Loose underwriting practices by some creditors contributed to a mortgage crisis that led to the nation's most serious recession since the Great Depression.
Congressman Cohen voted for the Dodd-Frank Act, signed into law in 2010 by President Barack Obama, to reform the U.S. financial industry in order to prevent a recurrence of the 2008 market crash, and continues to oppose efforts to reverse the protections put into the law as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act.
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WASHINGTON – Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-9) and Don Beyer (VA-8) and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon today introduced bicameral Billionaire Income Tax Act bills in an effort to establish a level of fairness in federal taxation and prevent millionaires and billionaires (and one prospective trillionaire) from avoiding significant liability. The measure would tax wealth gains as they occur.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-9) and Don Beyer (VA-8) and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon will hold a press availability on Wednesday to discuss the bicameral Billionaire Income Tax Act. The news media are invited to attend.
What: A press conference with Congressmen Cohen and Beyer and Senator Wyden
When: Wednesday, September 17, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern
Where: The Senate Finance Committee Room, Dirksen Senate Office Building 215
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are bringing back the Equal Employment for All Act to protect job seekers from unfair discrimination based on their credit ratings. The bill would ensure that job applicants are not forced to disclose their credit history as part of an employer's application process.
WASHINGTON -- Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today reintroduced the Fair Debt Collection Improvement Act that would bar debt collectors from bringing legal actions involving a consumer debt for which the statute of limitations has expired.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today introduced the Reward Each American’s Labor and Make Every Rich Individual Contribute Again (REAL AMERICA) Act, a bold tax reform bill that helps everyday working people while addressing Republican plans to sneak through a $2 trillion tax cut for millionaires and billionaires.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today wrote to Russell Vought, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), with concern at the damage done by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after mass dismissals of the bureau’s personnel.
The letter seeks answers to a series of questions, including “When do you anticipate CFPB investigations resuming?”
The letter reads in part:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today re-introduced the Tax Return Preparer Accountability Act to provide the Internal Revenue Service with the explicit authority to regulate tax preparation services by enacting training and integrity requirements.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that the Memphis-based River City Capital Investment Corporation will receive $619,000 from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program.
WASHINGTON -- Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today re-introduced legislation that would help put an end to the for-profit college industry’s aggressive recruiting of veterans, service members, and their families.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today applauded the Biden Administration decision to shorten the path to student debt cancellation under the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Program. Those students who borrowed less than $12,000 and have been in repayment for 10 years will have their entire debt cancelled next month without taking any action. The decision accelerates the SAVE deadlines by six months, making life-changing opportunities for student borrowers.