Media

[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.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today introduced the Research First Act to prevent and reverse the disastrous effects of sequestration cuts on critically important National Institutes of Health (NIH) research projects that could one day lead to cures for diseases that plague people around the globe. The legislation would replace more than $1.5 billion in crippling cuts to the NIH with Department of Defense funding that Pentagon leaders admit they don’t need.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) last night celebrated the passage of his amendment to cut the deficit and help limit the risk of taxpayer dollars being wasted or stolen in Afghanistan. The Congressman’s amendment to the to the FY2014 Defense Department Appropriations bill, which reduces funding to the Afghan Infrastructure Fund by $139 million, passed by a bipartisan vote of 249-173. Video of the Congressman’s remarks in support of the amendment can be viewed here.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced a $907,000 grant to the Catholic Charities of West Tennessee (CCWTN) to help prevent an estimated 160 local veterans and their families from falling homeless and to find housing for those that already have. Today’s grant funding is through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program.

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that a $371,875 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, which comes through the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, will be used to fund auto-inflammatory disease and host defense research.

“This funding will be used to continue important research at St. Jude, one of Memphis’s finest health care institutions,” said Congressman Cohen.