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
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today read with concern press accounts suggesting that Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans were directed to the tenants of properties owned by President Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner and renewed his request to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for details on PPP loans and loan forgiveness.
Twenty-five loans worth $3.65 million reportedly went to Trump or Kushner property tenants to pay for rent (to Trump and Kushner properties).
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and a longtime member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, today voted for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, removing marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. The bill would also establish a method of expunging criminal records for marijuana-related offenses which are often an impediment to employment.
The vote on passage was 228 to 164.
In a statement released after the vote, Congressman Cohen said:
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today wrote to General Service Administration Administrator Emily Murphy, reminding her of longstanding document requests he made about the Old Post Office in Washington now operating as The Trump International Hotel. Murphy has declined to declare that Joe Biden is the President-elect, preventing the transition to a new administration to begin.
The letter reads in part:
MEMPHIS – Congressman Cohen (TN-09) is pleased to see that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have won the required Electoral College votes to become President and Vice President, and made the following statement:
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, applauded today's commutation of the life sentence being served by 70-year-old Curtis McDonald but urged President Trump to use a more systematic approach to release thousands of similarly situated non-violent offenders before he leaves office.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today led a letter with 32 other Members of Congress demanding that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) alert the non-tax filers of its new Economic Impact Payment (EIP) registration deadline of November 21, 2020. Currently, the agency has no plans to contact non-filers and notify them of its new deadline, despite the fact that it recently sent direct letters to non-filers concerning the original deadline of October 15, 2020.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties with jurisdiction over voting rights, today condemned vote-suppression efforts in Texas and Pennsylvania aimed helping President Trump just a month before the November 3 election.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) tonight voted for the updated Heroes Act, which contains many of the provisions he has fought hard to have included in the measure addressing our ongoing health and economic catastrophe to protect lives, livelihoods and the life of our democracy. The $2.2 trillion measure is a scaled down version of the Heroes Act the House passed on May 15 but which the Senate has so far failed to consider.
Tonight's vote on passage was 214 to 207.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) went to the House floor this afternoon during the debate on the updated Heroes Act to denounce a provision slipped into the CARES Act passed in March that allowed a tax break to millionaires and billionaires for so-called "pass through" transactions.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its Subcommittee on Aviation, today voted to advance the Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act. The measure, informed by an 18-month committee investigation of the fatal crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019 and the certification process by which the aircraft were authorized for flight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), significantly improves aviation safety regulation and oversight.