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 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 55th 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:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) expressed his condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of John McCain upon hearing of his death in Arizona, and made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) took note of the 70th anniversary of the integration of the armed services by President Harry Truman's Executive Order 9981 and made the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions today urging the Justice Department to continue monitoring the Shelby County Juvenile Court in compliance with a 2012 Memorandum of Understanding. See the letter here.
Shelby County and the Juvenile Court have sought to terminate the agreement.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, condemned what appears to be a new violation of the U.S.