Tennessee

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today wrote to President Biden urging that he direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rescind its recently issued nationwide permit to Valero Energy and All Plains American for its proposed Byhalia Connection Pipeline. This pipeline cuts through historic, predominantly Black neighborhoods and crosses over the Memphis Sand Aquifer which could potentially irreparably contaminate the City of Memphis' source of drinking water.

The letter reads in part:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) two grants for ongoing medical research. The first, for $530,534, is from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for research of dysglycemia, or abnormal blood glucose levels. The second, for $1,519,716, is from the Department's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, for improving cardiovascular health.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its Subcommittee on Aviation, today announced that four Memphis-area airports will receive significant funding from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act passed in December providing nearly $2 billion in federal grant funding to help airports affected by COVID-19.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today introduced the Civil Rights Legacy Protection Act to regulate and reinforce protections for civil rights memorials and monuments across the United States by establishing federal penalties against vandalism of these sites, similar to the existing safeguards in place for the vandalism of veterans' memorials. It would also direct the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights to create a list of monuments and memorials that should be protected.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today presided at a hearing on "H.R. 40: Exploring the Path of Reparative Justice." The hearing explored H.R. 40, which would create a commission to study and develop a proposal for reparations for African Americans first proposed more than 30 years ago by the late Congressman John Conyers of Michigan.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) expressed disappointment at the acquittal of former President Donald Trump in the impeachment trial that ended today, and made the following statement:

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, participated in a daylong markup to consider legislative proposals to comply with the reconciliation directive included in section 2001 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2021, S. Con. Res. 5. The proposal includes nearly $100 billion to support transportation workers and communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Congressman Cohen voted for the measure in Committee this evening.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today presided over a hearing on "The Constitutional Means to Prevent Abuse of the Clemency Power." As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman Cohen has introduced joint resolutions in the current and previous Congresses to limit the pardon power outlined Article 2 of the Constitution.