Government Reform

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, today praised the use of DNA evidence to win a conviction against the perpetrator of an 18-year-old rape that occurred in southwest Memphis.

WASHINGTON – Congressmen Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) today introduced legislation to protect consumers from unfair taxes on digital goods and services like those purchased over the internet or on smartphones. The Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act ensures that digital goods and services are not taxed at a higher rate than their tangible counterparts.

"Digital goods and services have become a driving force in our national economy," said Congressman Cohen. "We should make sure consumers are treated fairly and not double-taxed."

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen late yesterday sent a letter to the Shelby County Election Commission about its procedures for processing applications following the Commission's assertion that 55 percent of the voter applications it had received were invalid. Congressman Cohen is a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Voting Rights Act.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Aviation Subcommittee, hailed passage of the Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act, the Planes Ensuring Total Safety (PETS) Act and three other measures he introduced that were made a part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that passed the House on a vote of 398 to 23 and is expected to be considered in the Senate soon. See his remarks on the House floor here.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) applauded today's Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee passage of his bill to rename the facility at 1325 Autumn Avenue as "The Judge Russell B. Sugarmon Post Office." The Senate committee's action clears the way for consideration by the full Senate.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) received a 100 percent score from the government watchdog group Common Cause on Wednesday after it assessed 15 measures involving money in politics, voting rights, Net Neutrality, overturning the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, presidential conflicts of interest and abuse of power, and redistricting reform. See the scorecard here. Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) urged the Senate to include the Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act in its version of legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before authorization expires on September 30, 2018. The bipartisan bill, which Congressman Cohen introduced with Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), would require the FAA to establish minimum sizes for seats and distances between rows to ensure that passenger safety is not put at risk by the recent shrinking of seat sizes.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today noted the 55^th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that brought a quarter of a million people to the National Mall to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial while millions more watched on television. Congressman Cohen made the following statement: