Cohen Scores High on Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law Scorecard

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) received a grade of 93 percent on the annual Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law scorecard. The Congressman received one of the highest grades in the Tennessee delegation.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the Shriver Center for my work on human rights, social, poverty and justice issues,” said Congressman Cohen. “We must never stop helping those that are less fortunate than us. Whether it is by helping people gain access to quality, affordable health care or extending unemployment insurance, we must continue to help the poor and strengthen the middle class.”

Congressman Cohen has long been a proponent of advancing social, poverty, justice and human rights issues in the Tennessee State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. In the House, he has voted numerous times to extend unemployment insurance, was a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act, and has authored legislation to combat the foreclosure crisis. He has also authored legislation to combat infant mortality and has voted to support child nutrition programs and reduce childhood hunger and obesity.

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law provides national leadership in identifying, developing, and supporting creative and collaborative approaches to achieve social and economic justice for low-income people and communities. The Center engages in direct advocacy campaigns around the country to improve policies and programs on specific issues, and also engages in broader advocacy on general issues of justice, opportunity, and human rights.

The Center’s advocacy niche is the nexus between federal policy and state implementation, a key position in this era of devolution of power to the states in many areas of social policy and law. Reflecting its original national mission as a leader in the law-based effort to achieve justice and opportunity for all, the Center’s advocacy has an intentionally national aspect in addition to its Illinois base. An important component of the Center’s national work is the publication of Clearinghouse Review, a journal focused on best practice in litigation and advocacy on issues related to social and economic justice.

Also, the Center publishes an annual Poverty Scorecard, which provides a snapshot of how each United States Senator and Representative voted on legislation having to do with a range of issues, providing a measure of our elected officials’ commitment to achieving justice and opportunity for low-income Americans.