Press Releases

[WASHINGTON, DC] – On the Floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today paid tribute to the late Tennessee House Speaker Pro Tempore Emeritus Lois DeBerry, the longest serving member of the Tennessee House of Representatives and the first female and only African American to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore. Video of the Congressman’s remarks is available here.

The Congressman’s remarks as prepared follow:

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that a $450,423 research grant from the Department of Health and Human Services has been awarded to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in downtown Memphis. The grant comes through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and focuses on studies that investigate the role played by an important immune cell, the T cell, in a variety of different infections, including influenza virus.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today congratulated the City of Memphis on being named one of the world’s top 20 travel destinations by MSN. The top 20 list included Memphis alongside world icons like Paris, Venice, and Istanbul and natural wonders like Jackson Hole. In describing Memphis, the article mentions a greenway that includes the Harahan Bridge Project, which Congressman Cohen spent nearly three years working on in order to secure funding.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced today that LeMoyne-Owen College has been awarded $1,736,699 in continuing grant funding for its “Moving Forward – Steps to Graduate School” project. The project will build on a previous successful project aimed at preparing minority undergraduate students for graduate school and for successful careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

[MEMPHIS, TN] - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) released the following statement upon learning of the passing of Tennessee House Speaker Pro Tempore Emeritus Lois DeBerry, the longest serving member of the Tennessee House of Representatives and the first female and only African American to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore:

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today on the Floor of the United States House of Representatives, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) commemorated the fifth anniversary of the passage of H.Res.194, the first official Congressional apology for slavery and Jim Crow laws. The text of the apology, which passed the House on July 29, 2008, is available here and video of the Congressman’s remarks on the House Floor today is available here.

The Congressman’s remarks as prepared follow:

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced today that the University of Memphis has been awarded a total of $890,000 in grant funding for arts and research projects. The three grants announced today were awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

“This funding underscores the important role University of Memphis scholars play in areas of national importance including sciences and the humanities,” said Congressman Cohen.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – After a recent Supreme Court ruling left important provisions of the Voting Rights Act in limbo and raised questions about whether the civil rights of millions of Americans—including minority groups who have historically been oppressed—would remain protected, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) applauded this morning’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice will seek to ensure that new Texas laws that threaten to disenfranchise countless voters are adequately reviewed and receive preclearance before going into effect.