Tennessee Congressional Delegation Sends Letter to President Biden Urging Approval of Disaster Declaration Following Deadly Tornadoes

All 11 members of the Tennessee congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the “swift approval” of Governor Bill Lee’s request for a major disaster declaration due to severe storms that devastated communities across Middle Tennessee over the weekend.

On December 9, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes ripped through Middle Tennessee. The storms caused six fatalities and dozens of injuries, produced significant damage to nearly 1,900 homes, and destroyed over 500 homes, according to initial reports.

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All Tennessee GOP Representatives Receive A+ Rating from the Pro-Life Susan B. Anthony List

On Wednesday, the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List released the latest ratings for its National Pro-Life Scorecard. According to the organization, the national scorecard is “a tool for holding members of Congress accountable for their legislative records on abortion and highlighting leadership in the fight to protect unborn children and their mothers.”

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House Select Committee on Redistricting Releases Proposed Congressional Maps

The Tennessee State House Select Committee on Redistricting met on Wednesday, releasing the new plan for Congressional redistricting. The plan includes the proposed new maps, which are listed on the committee website.

Tennessee’s current delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives has a partisan breakdown of seven Republicans and two Democrats. Democrat Congressman Jim Cooper’s 5th Congressional District and Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen’s 9th Congressional District currently center on Nashville and Memphis, respectively.

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Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen Says Donald Trump Had ‘The Most Disgusting Presidency in the History of This Country’

U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) said on the floor of the House this month that former U.S. President Donald Trump had “the most disgusting presidency in the history of this country.” Cohen said this as he declared he had voted for the Protecting Our Democracy Act. He said the bill, if enacted into law, would prevent presidential abuses of power, and it would also protect elections from foreign interference. The bill would also require Congressional oversight when the president grants self-pardons or pardons family members, administration officials, or paid campaign staffers.

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Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen Says Mississippi Shouldn’t Write its Own Abortion Laws Because it Was Once a Confederate State

U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) this week said states that want to enact pro-life policies, including Mississippi, are on the same level morally as states that legalized slavery more than 160 years ago. Cohen made his remarks on the floor of the U.S. House. He referred to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case that recently went before the U.S. Supreme Court. The pending case pertains to the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that banned abortions after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen Wants Joe Biden to Clamp Down on Private Prisons

Rep Steve Cohen

Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) this month said that the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service continue to use privately-operated detention facilities, and he wants President Joe Biden to put a stop to it. In a letter, Cohen said private prison companies have discovered ways to circumvent an executive order that Biden signed in January. That order directed the attorney general not to renew contracts with privately-operated criminal facilities.

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U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis Says Law-Abiding Citizens with Guns Don’t Deter Criminals

U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) said at a House Judiciary hearing last week that good people with firearms do not stop bad people with firearms. “Show me a case in Memphis where a good man or woman with a gun protected and stopped the use of a weapon. That canard doesn’t occur. That dog won’t hunt. It doesn’t happen. You talk about people losing their Second Amendment rights through these procedures,” Cohen said, referring to various states’ red flag laws.

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U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis Asks Joe Biden to Review Gas Pipeline Permits Nationwide

U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) this week said he wants more federal oversight of the oil industry and asked that U.S. President Joe Biden review the use of gas pipeline permits nationwide. Cohen announced the news via email to his constituents this week. He said Memphis residents who recently stopped the construction of the Byhalia Pipeline through southwest Memphis have forced people to think more about environmental justice issues.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen Wants the Federal Government to Fix Childhood Obesity

U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) on Tuesday paired up with U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to file companion bills that would, if enacted into law, create a government program to combat childhood obesity. “The Reducing Obesity in Youth Act would create a grant program to assist in the development of healthier early care and education environments to improve healthy eating and physical activity among children from birth through 5 years of age,” according to a press release that members of Cohen’s staff published on the congressman’s website this week.

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U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen Announces More Taxpayer-Funded Goodies for Memphis

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) this week voted for a seven-bill “minibus” that he said increases spending for several government social programs. The bill increases spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and other school nutrition programs. Cohen said in a press release that the money also increases spending on the Small Business Administration, consumer protection agencies, veterans affairs and veterans medical services.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen Demands Equity Programs in All State Departments of Education

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) this week introduced a bill that he said will increase diversity in Advanced Placement (AP) and Gifted and Talented Elementary (GT) classes. In a press release, Cohen also said his bill would use Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) funding to create equity offices in state departments of education to increase diversity in AP and GT programs.

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Representative Cohen’s Resolution to Abolish Electoral College Moves Slowly Through House

Steve Cohen

Representative Steve Cohen’s (D-TN-09) initiative to abolish the electoral college hasn’t progressed much since it was introduced back in January. The last action on the resolution occurred early last month, when it was referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. No dates are listed to consider the resolution, though Cohen is the subcommittee chairman.

Other members of that committee are Vice Chair Deborah Ross (D-NC-02), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Henry “Hank” Johnson (D-GA-04), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29), Cori Bush (D-MO-01), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18), Mike Johnson (R-LA-04), Tom McClintock (D-CA-04), Chip Roy (D-TX-21), Michelle Fischbach (D-MN-07), and Burgess Owens (D-UT-04).

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Governor Lee Refutes Representative Cohen Claims on Shorted Distribution of COVID Vaccines

In a letter to Memphis Mayor Strickland, Governor Bill Lee refuted recent claims that the COVID-19 vaccines weren’t distributed equally to Shelby County.

“[I]t has been reported that Shelby County has not received an equitable share of vaccine doses relative to other counties across the state. However – and I want to be clear and unmistakable about this – any such claims are incorrect,” stated Lee.

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University of Memphis to Raise Minimum Wage to $15 by June

The University of Memphis (UofM) will raise its minimum wage from $13 to $15 an hour, starting June 5. 

In a copy of the email obtained by The Tennessee Star, university faculty and staff were informed by President Dr. David Rudd on Tuesday that the raise was a culmination of adjustments done over the past year. Rudd shared that some of they’d implemented a hiring freeze, reduction in operational costs, and forms of attrition.

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Tennessee’s Representatives Split on Party Lines for $2K CASH Act: Republicans Vote No, Both Democrats Vote Yes

The U.S. House passed the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Cash (CASH Act) last evening; Tennessee’s representatives faced a partisan split on the bill. The act tacks on $1,400 to the $600 payments within the massive year-end package signed by President Trump on Sunday.

The CASH Act passed in the House with a majority of 275 to 134, and 21 abstained from voting. One of the representatives who abstained their vote was Representative David (Phil) Roe (R-TN-01). Of all House Republicans, 44 voted for the act, and 130 voted against it.

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U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis Divided and Degraded Americans During 116th Congress

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) on Thursday released a video bragging about his time in the 116th Congress, although the video didn’t mention his more outlandish, offensive, or insensitive displays of behavior during that time. The video, which Cohen’s staff uploaded to the congressman’s Facebook page, shows him pushing to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump and pledging to address the death of George Floyd. Later, the video reports that Cohen delivered nearly $387 million in federal taxpayer money to his district, which includes Memphis.

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Tennessee’s Congress Members Rushed to Issue Same-Day Vote on the 5600 Page Stimulus Bill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scheduled a vote Monday evening for a hefty bill dropped on Congress earlier that same day. The spending bill totals nearly 5,600 pages.

The bill was unavailable prior to this afternoon, a delay reportedly caused by “computer glitch[es].” In addition to the $900 billion in pandemic stimulus spending, the bill includes $1.4 trillion for other expenditures. 

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Tennessee’s Congressional Delegation Members Say Whether They Support Donald Trump’s Call For A Fair Election

Most members of Tennessee’s Congressional delegation support U.S. President Donald Trump and his call for a fair and transparent election.

Trump, a Republican, said he believes voter fraud put his opponent Joe Biden, a Democrat, over the top in certain battleground states after a close election.

But U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) said in a newsletter to his constituents Sunday that Trump’s statements are false and baseless.

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Tennessee’s Democratic Representatives Cohen and Cooper Fear-Monger Voters Ahead of Election Day

Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) and Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) tweeted that voters should be fearful heading into Election Day. Both representatives issued their remarks on the day before the election.

The tweets from Cohen and Cooper reflect one of two messages: encouraging individuals to submit their votes and questioning the integrity of the election. The day before Election Day, Cohen suggested that the election’s aftermath should be feared.

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Cohen Calls Trump a ‘Sociopath’ After Commuting Roger Stone’s Sentence

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) called President Donald Trump a “textbook narcissist and sociopath” after he commuted the prison sentence of Roger Stone Friday night.

Stone had been sentenced in February to three years and four months in prison for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. He was set to report to prison by Tuesday.

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