Media

[MEMPHIS, TN] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Memphis Mayor A C Wharton today expressed their disappointment that Memphis was not eligible for the first round of President Obama’s “Promise Zone” initiative and recommitted to working together to see Memphis awarded a “Promise Zone” designation in the next rounds of the competition, which will use different selection criteria. In a letter sent earlier today, Congressman Cohen urged U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan to strongly consider Memphis in the 2014 round of the program.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today applauded President Obama’s Administration for issuing new guidelines for public school officials aimed at cutting short the “school-to-prison” pipeline that is both expensive and disproportionately harmful to minority students. The guidelines encourage schools to redesign disciplinary policies to use alternative conflict resolution methods including counseling and recommend using law enforcement solely as a last resort in disciplinary incidents.

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – On the 50^th Anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson declaring “War on Poverty,” Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today applauded the strides made over the last 5 decades but reflected on the work still left to do. According to a new Council of Economic Advisors report, while poverty had declined from nearly 26% of Americans in 1967 to 16% in 2012, nearly 50 million Americans still struggle each day with the economic hardship and social stigma of living in poverty.

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today issued the following statement after the Senate voted to begin consideration of a bipartisan three-month extension of unemployment insurance (S. 1845) on a vote of 60 to 37:

[MEMPHIS, TN] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today hosted his 2014 District Issues Meeting for constituents, welcoming more than 50 Memphians to his office to discuss issues affecting the city and the Mid-South. This meeting, like his regular local events and telephone town hall meetings, offered the citizens of the Ninth District an opportunity for direct dialogue with the Congressman about the issues that matter most to them.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that Shelby County has been awarded a $13,161,380 grant from the Department of U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) to support Head Start projects that help promote school readiness of children from birth until the age of 5 by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development.

[MEMPHIS, TN] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today reiterated that the imprisoned members of Russian punk music group “Pussy Riot” should never have been incarcerated for an artistic performance and expressed approval of news that Russian President Vladimir Putin would—at long last—grant them their freedom.

[MEMPHIS, TN] – After attending last weekend’s memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that he will send the service’s guest book to the late President’s family in South Africa. A photo of the guest book from the R.S. Lewis Funeral Home, the same funeral home where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s body was taken for public viewing in April of 1968, is available here.