Government Reform
In Congress, I have taken numerous steps to begin to change the way we do business in Washington and to restore accountability and transparency to government. I have voted for and passed legislation that banned gifts from lobbyists, prohibited the use of corporate jets, and required full disclosure of earmarks. Also I have passed legislation banning pensions for Members of Congress convicted of certain crimes; and strengthening the Freedom of Information Act to increase government transparency.
More on Government Reform
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, which has jurisdiction over voting rights, today introduced the John Tanner Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act. The measure, named for longtime Tennessee Congressman John Tanner, would require states to take their congressional apportionment out of the political process and place it in the hands of independent redistricting commissions.
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today questioned expert witnesses at a full Committee hearing on "Secrecy Orders and Prosecuting Leaks: Potential Legislative Responses to Deter Prosecutorial Abuse of Power."
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced today that his District and Washington offices will be closed on Friday, June 18, in observance of Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday. Congressman Cohen also made the following statement about the observance of the holiday:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) tonight voted to make Juneteenth – June 19 – a national holiday, recognizing the anniversary of that date in 1865 when enslaved residents of Texas learned of their emancipation at the end of the Civil War. The House vote was 415 to 14. After the Senate's passage of the resolution on Tuesday, the measure now moves to President Biden's desk to be signed into law.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Representatives Steve Cohen (TN-09), Barbara Lee (CA-13) and Bobby L. Rush (IL-01) will hold a virtual forum on the FBI's notorious COINTELPRO program recently featured in the Academy Award-winning film "Judas and the Black Messiah," which dramatizes the FBI-orchestrated assassination of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in 1969. The forum will be on Monday, May 10, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) joined a bipartisan, bicameral letter to Administrator Isabella Guzman encouraging the Small Business Administration (SBA) to implement the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) emergency relief program Congress established to keep small businesses such as local music venues, movie theaters, museums and zoos across the country open and operating.
The letter reads in part:
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, welcomed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – "Secretary Pete" -- to his first committee hearing today and raised issues involving the Byhalia Connection Pipeline, the adequacy of Federal Aviation Administration passenger seat safety testing, Memphis' high pedestrian fatality rate and truck safety.
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today presided at a hearing on "the Need to Expand Eligibility Under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act." The hearing explored the impact of downwind and other radiation exposure from nuclear bomb testing and uranium mining and other uranium workers during the Second World War and during the Cold War, and the need to compensate the many victims not currently eligible under RECA.
During his opening statement, Congressman Cohen said:
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, applauds the Committee for passing his bill, H.R. 390, to redesignate the Federal Building located at 167 North Main Street in Memphis as the "Odell Horton Federal Building," . The bill was passed by a voice vote and is now eligible for consideration by the full House of Representatives.