Government Reform

WASHINGTON – Congressmen Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) and Steve Chabot (R-OH-01) today introduced the End Discriminatory State Taxes for Automobile Renters Act, limiting the use of excise taxes on "out-of-town" visitors renting cars to raise revenue for local needs.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today applauded House passage of H.R. 3375, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, to stop abusive robocall practices. The vote was 429 to 3.

The bill directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enact strong consumer protections and empowers the FCC with tools to reign in robocalls. The bill also ensures that consumers have the ability to stop calls they have previously authorized and requires incoming calls to have authentic caller identification information before being delivered to customers.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) cosponsored and voted in favor of H. Res. 489 that reaffirms our national values and condemns President Trump's recent tweets that four Members of Congress should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." The vote was 240 to 187.

In voting for the measure, Congressman Cohen said:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, today questioned witnesses at a hearing on "Women and Girls in the Criminal Justice System."

During the question-and-answer session, Congressman Cohen asked Jesselyn McCurdy, Deputy Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office, about private prisons and their impact.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and a member of its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, today questioned expert witnesses on marijuana policy at a hearing on "Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform."

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Congressmen Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) today introduced the Complete Streets Act, legislation that would promote safer and more accessible transportation routes across the United States.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) reacted to today's 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to resolve the issue of partisan gerrymandering by pointing to a Congressional solution to the problem: his H.R. 124, the John Tanner Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, presided over a hearing on "Continuing Challenges to the Voting Rights Act Since Shelby County v. Holder." The Act, repeatedly reauthorized on a bipartisan basis, most recently in 2006, was undermined by the 2013 ruling in the Shelby County case. The Act has not been reauthorized since the ruling because bipartisan support has evaporated.

In his opening statement Chairman Cohen said: