Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, today chaired a hearing on press freedom in the United States. Congressman Cohen noted that, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, there have been more than 500 attacks on journalists during Black Lives Matter protests since May 26. Congressman Cohen also expressed his concern about Trump Administration efforts to muzzle the Voice of America.

In his opening remarks, Congressman Cohen said:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will receive a grant of $342,000 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for research on gastrointestinal dysfunction.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"I'm pleased our medical school researchers can continue their important work on the scourge of diabetes, which is so devastating to communities of color, including to residents of my district in Memphis."

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today voted for legislation to remove all Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol and to replace the bust of Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney with a bust of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court. Taney wrote the majority opinion in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case on March 6, 1857, which argued that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress had no power to prevent the spread of slavery.

Washington – Today, Congressman Steve Cohen voted to pass H.R. 1957, the Great American Outdoors Act, to provide permanent, full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and establish the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. This legislation, which passed the Senate last month, builds on the progress made by last year's John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act. The Great American Outdoors Act will now go to the President's desk for signature

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) tonight applauded the inclusion of his priorities in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a measure providing for our national defense in the fiscal year that begins October 1. The measure, which passed the House 295 to 125 and for which Congressman Cohen voted, includes language that authorizes a $2 million multi-drone/multi-sensor intelligence program that will be housed at the University of Memphis.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, today wrote to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Peter DeFazio of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Rick Larsen to express his concern about the misguided formula for airport relief authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that went into effect in late March.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today went to the well of the House to deliver remarks on the passing of Georgia Congressman, Civil Rights leader and his friend John Lewis:

"It's said, when you come to the House, you sometimes walk with giants. Rarely do you get to walk with a saint. John Lewis was a saint. He was heavenly. He embodied the spirit of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. He exhibited that in his life, his work, his votes and in his advice to his colleagues.

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) released the following statement on learning that Georgia Congressman and Civil Rights legend John Lewis has died:

"America has lost a hero. I have lost a hero, a dear friend, a ‘good trouble' cohort and colleague. It has been an honor to know and serve with this gentleman. He was the embodiment of Dr. King, Mahatma Gandhi, and heaven on earth."