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WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Aviation Subcommittee, today questioned expert witnesses at a hearing on "Bridging the Gap: Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the U.S.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will receive a $448,649 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for research "Exploiting Water Network Perturbations in Protein Binding Sites."Congressman Cohen made the following statement:"I am always pleased to see the National Institutes of Health investing in research undertaken at St. Jude. This funding will expand our knowledge in this area and will potentially save lives."###

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 the “Implications of Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee and Potential Legislative Responses.” The July 1 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court limits the applicability of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it harder to challenge discriminatory voting laws. In his opening statement, Chairman Cohen said in part: “More troubling than the outcome in the individual cases at issue in Brnovich was the reasoning underlying it and its potential impact in future cases alleging vote denial claims under Section 2. “In a brazen opinion, the Court in Brnovich created out of thin air five ‘guideposts’ that lower courts are to follow in assessing vote denial claims under Section 2. These guideposts are found nowhere in the VRA, directly contradict Section 2’s purpose, and potentially narrow its scope. As Justice Kagan wrote in dissent, the Court was operating in a ‘law-free zone.’ “Depending on how lower courts interpret and apply these “guideposts,” any one of them can become a giant loophole for states and localities to discriminate against minority citizens. Taken together, they can present a formidable obstacle for future Section 2 plaintiffs alleging vote denial claims.” See the entire opening statement here. See Chairman Cohen’s questioning of expert witnesses here. Witnesses at today’s hearing were: • Mr. Sean Morales-Doyle Acting Director, Voting Rights & Elections, Democracy, Brennan Center for Justice • Mr. Robert D. Popper Senior Attorney, Judicial Watch • Mr. Ezra Rosenberg Co-Director, Voting Rights Project, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law • Mr. Nicholas Stephanopoulos Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law, Harvard Law School ###