WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 4: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today applauded Trump's decision to fire Skip Thompson, Chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), over the TVA's outsourcing of jobs during the ongoing pandemic. He also agreed with Trump's criticism of the TVA CEO's $8 million per year salary, which Congressman Cohen has denounced for years. Citing the TVA's plan to outsource 108 Information Technology (I.T.)   more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Aug. 8 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement on Aug. 7: * * * Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will receive a $52,460 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to assess its 10,000-object permanent collection in preparation for its relocation in 2025. The grant includes the services of consultants who will review and help digitize the collection for display on the museum's websit  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 -- Rep. Stephen Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following statement on Aug. 6: * * * Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today applauded the reversal by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on its decision to outsource 108 Information Technology (I.T.) jobs. However, he expressed concern that TVA leadership only recognized the need to protect Tennessee jobs after Trump fired the Chair of the TVA on Tuesday. Congressman Cohen condemned the TVA's decision to outsource these jobs wh  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 5: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today wrote to Democratic leaders negotiating the next round of coronavirus pandemic economic relief to urge them to prioritize the needs of small and minority businesses in the Paycheck Protection Program and to ensure there are proper levels of transparency in place. Congressman Cohen also said that negotiators should include provisions of the Reviving the Economy  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) sent a letter to House leadership saying that the next COVID-19 stimulus package should mandate that lenders participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) prioritize minority-owned businesses and require the disclosure of loan recipients to ensure accountability and compliance. A new study from Accountable U.S. found that business owners in congressional districts wit  more

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, Aug. 6 -- Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 5: Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), today, sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr asking the Department of Justice to, "[C]ontinue to protect religious freedom and combat religious discrimination in the United States." Rep. Fleischmann's letter comes after nearly a dozen reported acts of vandalism at Catholic Churches around the United States, including an incident at   more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Aug. 7 -- Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: U.S. Representative David Kustoff (TN-08), applauded the expansion of Operation Legend to Memphis, Tennessee. Operation Legend is a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime. Operation Legend is named in honor of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro,  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tennessee, issued the following joint statement: U.S. Representatives David Kustoff (R-TN), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Phil Roe (R-TN), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), and John Rose (R-TN) released the following statement in response to Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), Chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, sending official letters singling out four Republican-led states, including Tennessee, for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, Aug. 8 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement: * * * Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the agency is awarding CARES Act Admin Fee Regular and Mainstream Voucher Program grants totaling $428,500 to Bristol, Elizabethton, Johnson City, Kingsport and Morristown: "The COVID-19 pandemic has increased uncertainty for many, and we must ensure our mos  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, Aug. 6 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following column: Congress and the Trump administration are currently negotiating additional coronavirus relief. We have already seen the tremendous impact that legislation like that CARES Act has had on our country, and any additional aid needs to likewise help Americans as we fight this invisible enemy. CARES Act programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have saved millions of jobs nationwide, and over 86,000   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 7: Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance & Memorial Affairs (DAMA), and Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, released the following statements after introducing the Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expa  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 -- Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 7: Today, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) introduced the bipartisan and bicameral Suppress COVID-19 Act to provide states with the support they need to eliminate the spread of COVID-19. Rep. Phil Roe is a lead author. In the Senate, the bill is carried by Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.). Based on research by leading public health experts, the S  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 4: Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Jim Cooper (TN-05) today wrote to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee expressing their concern that the state has placed obstacles in the way of families eligible for food assistance and other benefits available through the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program, and potentially forfeiting $60 million in federal funds devoted to the program. The letter re  more

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, Aug. 8 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement on Aug. 7: * * * United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after the Administration reimposed tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada: "Imposing tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada so quickly after the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has gone into effect will hurt tens of thousands of auto workers in Tennessee. "The average automobile produc  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 4: U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today joined President Donald Trump at the White House for the signing of the Great American Outdoors Act - bipartisan legislation Alexander sponsored that passed the Senate on June 17 by a 73-25 vote and the House of Representatives on July 22 by a 310-107 vote. The new law gives the biggest funding boost to the United States' 419 national parks in half a  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, issued the following statement Aug. 3: * * * United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration's new executive order: "TVA may have shown poor judgment hiring foreign companies during a pandemic, but, on most counts, it does a very good job of producing large amounts of low-cost, reliable electricity. "Residential electric rates are among the 25 percent lowes  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 5: Today, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) were joined by U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt for a ceremony to designate the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville as a National Historic Landmark. Susan Combs, chair of the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission and Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget for the Department of the Interior, was a  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 5: Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced the K2 Veterans Toxic Exposure Accountability Act yesterday to help veterans who served at Karshi Khanabad ("K2") Airbase in Uzbekistan to obtain the health screenings and services they need. "Veterans of the Fort Campbell-based 5th Special Forces Group and 160th Special Operations Aviation   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release on Aug. 5: Today, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), introduced the Protect Our Prosecutors and Judges Act, a bill that expands the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act--which allows current and retired LEOs to carry concealed firearms--to include current and retired state, local, and federal prosecutors, as well as federal judges. "Right now, law enforce  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), along with Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Georgia), introduced the Protect Our Prosecutors and Judges Act, a bill that expands the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act--which allows current and retired LEOs to carry concealed firearms--to include current and retired state, local, and federal prosecutors, as well as federal judges. Bill text may be  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi, issued the following news release on Aug. 3: U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today welcomed President Donald J. Trump's nomination of Charles William "Bill" Cook, Jr., of Oxford to serve a five-year term on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Wicker and Hyde-Smith recommended Cook for the post earlier this year. "Bill Cook is a terrific choice for the TVA board and woul  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, issued the following news release on Aug. 3: U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., today welcomed President Donald J. Trump's nomination of Charles William "Bill" Cook, Jr., of Oxford to serve a five-year term on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Wicker and Hyde-Smith recommended Cook for the post earlier this year. "Bill Cook is a terrific choice for the TVA board and would rep  more