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MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - A Tennessee lawmaker has introduced a bill that would change the way law enforcement across the country reports DUI arrests.
The DUI Reporting Act would harmonize law enforcement reporting of DUI arrests, allowing police officers anywhere immediate access to the latest data, including pending cases, during traffic stops.
"Repeat offenders are the problems, and repeat offenders need to be known and charged that way," said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee. "They need to get some guaranteed jail time and guaranteed treatment to protect the driving public."
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Federal and state lawmakers are calling on the Tennessee Valley Authority to expedite its efforts to clean-up the toxic coal ash in Memphis.
TVA said there are nearly three million cubic yards of coal ash still sitting at the site on President's Island.
State Senator Brian Kelsey introduced a resolution on Wednesday urging TVA to do more to make ensure the city's drinking water is protected since there are some toxins near the site that threaten the water supply.
On Tuesday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos went before a House appropriations subcommittee and, as she has in every previous year of the Trump presidency, requested a series of huge cuts to the Department of Education—$7 billion in total this time around, which is roughly 10 percent of the department's budget. Among the proposals that DeVos made to that end was eliminating the entirety of the $17.6 million in federal spending dedicated to the Special Olympics.
House Democrats raised concerns Wednesday that President Donald Trump, newly emboldened after the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, could seek to pardon associates and allies entangled in the multiyear investigation.
In a House Judiciary Committee hearing with legal experts to examine the limits of the pardon power and a president's ability to pardon himself - scheduled before the end of the Muller probe - Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, said the "academic" discussion "has taken on greater importance" during Trump's presidency.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) today introduced the DUI Reporting Act to address the loophole in our nation's drunken-driving laws that enables repeat DUI offenders to be charged and tried as first-time offenders because of inconsistent reporting.
The bill has been endorsed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and has in the past received overwhelming bipartisan support.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) wrote to the outgoing and incoming presidents and CEOs of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) today following their recent meeting with the Tennessee congressional delegation to express his concern that they are not treating the cleanup of the coal ash found in the groundwater at the Allen Fossil Plant in Memphis with sufficient urgency. See the letter here.
Among the points Congressman Cohen makes in the letter:
Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) clean up of the coal ash at its now-idled Allen Fossil Plant could take up to 20 years and Rep. Steve Cohen told TVA leaders Tuesday that's too long.
TVA said it will close its remaining coal ash pond at the Allen plant. The federal agency is now in the process of deciding just how it will deal with the coal ash that remains at the site. Options include sealing the ash and storing it in place and removing the ash.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) was the only member of the Tennessee Congressional delegation to receive a perfect score on the Defenders of Wildlife Conservation Report Card for the 2nd Session of the 115th Congress.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
"I'm proudly working hard to protect our wildlife and its habitat and am encouraged by this acknowledgement of my voting record by Defenders of Wildlife."
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced today that Christ Community Health Services Inc. will be receiving a grant of $5,416,771 from the Department of Health and Human Services for its ongoing work meeting the needs of the medically underserved.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
"This significant grant will help Christ Community Health Services meet the medical care necessities of Memphians most in need, and I applaud its dedication."
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) voted to override President Trump's veto of a bipartisan resolution to overturn his declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexican border and to spend unauthorized money on a wall. The override vote, which requires a two-thirds supermajority, failed by a vote of 248 to 181.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement: