Government Reform
In Congress, Congressman Cohen has taken numerous steps to begin to change the way we do business in Washington and to restore accountability and transparency to government.
He has voted for and passed legislation that banned gifts from lobbyists, prohibited the use of corporate jets, and required full disclosure of earmarks. He has supported legislation banning pensions for Members of Congress convicted of certain crimes, and to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act by increasing government transparency.
Congressman Cohen has also taken the lead on important structural reforms, like non-partisan redistricting with the John Tanner and Jim Cooper Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act, and the rigorous, nonpartisan agency oversight with the Independent Acting Inspectors General Act.
More on Government Reform
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today introduced six Articles of Impeachment against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for committing high crimes and misdemeanors by violating the Constitution, disregarding his statutory obligations as Chief Justice, and breaching his oaths of office.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen, who has represented Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District for more than 19 years, held a press conference at his office in Washington this morning to announced that he will not be a candidate for any of the newly drawn Congressional seats carved out of the 9th. His majority-Black district was gerrymandered into three Republican-leaning districts by the state General Assembly last week.
He made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, discussed the travesty for representation that is the partisan Congressional redistricting of Tennessee’s 9th District. The majority-minority Tennessee Congressional District that Congressman Cohen has represented for more than 19 years was divided into three Republican-leaning districts by the Tennessee General Assembly last week.
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today observed the wholesale destruction of democratic representation in the state of Tennessee by the Tennessee General Assembly that he has tried to prevent and made the following statement:
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) will return from Nashville, where he has been working to defeat a partisan redistricting plan that would disenfranchise Memphis voters, to hold a press conference on Thursday morning in his downtown office.
What: A press conference to discuss the General Assembly’s plan to disenfranchise the voters of a majority-Black 9th Congressional District Congressman Cohen has represented since 2007
When: Thursday, May 7th, at 10:30 a.m.
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), who has represented a majority-Black district in Congress since 2007, responded to state Republican lawmakers’ call for a special legislative session to consider redistricting, and made the following statement:
“This transparent effort to create a seat for a member of Congress who will rubber stamp Trump’s increasingly bizarre and dangerous agenda will also dilute the Black vote in Tennessee to the point of irrelevance.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), Caucus Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01) and Chellie Pingree (ME-01) led a group of lawmakers expressing concerns to President Donald Trump and Acting Chairman for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) William English regarding NEH funds being unlawfully redirected toward the construction of a Triumphal Arch.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the leading Congressional advocate for decriminalizing marijuana, today welcomed the U.S. Department of Justice decision to loosen restrictions on medical marijuana by rescheduling state-licensed medical marijuana products to Schedule III. But he said more needs to be done to remove recreational use of marijuana from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act in the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a longtime advocate of fair and sensible laws regarding marijuana, will hold a press conference and policy briefing to address the impact of incarcerating those charged with marijuana-related offenses.
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee who has long sought the removal of Trump lackey Pam Bondi as Attorney General, today welcomed the decision to remove her from running the U.S. Justice Department. Congressman Cohen released the following statement in response to the announcement: