Press Releases

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice and a strong advocate for reform of the nation’s racially-biased criminal justice system, today introduced legislation to give rehabilitated ex-offenders who have repaid their debts to society a fair chance to compete in today’s job market. The Congressman’s legislation, the Re-Integration of Ex-Offenders Through Technology Act, would incorporate technology literacy programs into the U.S.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) hosted a telephone town hall last night to answer his constituents’ questions about the issues facing the Ninth District and the nation.

Lipman now becomes federal judge on the District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Sheryl Lipman, who Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) recommended to President Obama to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, was today confirmed by the United States Senate on an overwhelming vote of 95-0. Judge Lipman was recommended by the Congressman after he convened a diverse and bipartisan screening committee to conduct interviews of nine potential candidates for the position.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – After Republicans in the Senate blocked the consideration of an increase in the minimum wage earlier today, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) once again called on Speaker John Boehner to allow the House to vote on H.R. 1010, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would increase the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour and tie the wage to inflation moving forward. Increasing the minimum wage would help more than 600,000 Tennesseans and help lift as many as 4.5 million Americans out of poverty.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced today that Shelby County has been awarded $5,093,623 in federal funding to help address the HIV/AIDS epidemic and provide care for those living with HIV. This funding comes through the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which helps local governments provide HIV-related services to more than half a million people each year who do not have sufficient health care coverage or financial resources for coping with the disease.

[MEMPHIS, TN] – On Thursday morning, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) hosted a reception at his office in the Clifford Davis/Odell Horton Federal Building to congratulate four Ninth District students who have been accepted to attend United States Military Service Academies this fall. A photo of the Congressman with the four students (Grayson Michael Harber, Ciarra Simone Robinson, Kristen Chanelle Williams, and Minh Nhat Vuong) is available here.

[MEMPHIS, TN] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in downtown Memphis has been awarded an $8 million, seven-year contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), which is part of the National Institutes of Health. The funding provided through this contract will support the Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) at St. Jude, one of only 5 such centers in the nation.

Congressman Cohen has urged the Administration to make broader use of its pardon and commutation powers

[MEMPHIS, TN] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today welcomed the announcement that Deborah Leff, the Acting Senior Counselor for Access to Justice at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), will replace Ronald Rodgers as the head of the DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney.