{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-votes-record-level-spending-health-and-education", "Congressman Cohen Votes for Record Level Spending on Health  and Education Programs", "2019-12-17", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today voted for one of two comprehensive spending measures funding federal government programs through the end of fiscal year in September 2020. Both measures passed the House, averting another government shutdown. The measure the Congressman supported provides a record high level of spending on the National Institutes of Health, Child Care and Community DevelopmentBlockGrants, Head Start, Title 1 Education,and Food for Peace.\nThe bill includes $25 million, split between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, for firearms injury and mortality prevention, the first time this vital research has been funded in 20 years. It expands access to affordable housing, lowers prescription drug prices by increasing competition, protects the Affordable Care Act and raises the age for buying tobacco products to 21.The bill also provides an additional $36.2 million to Tennessee for highway and transit spending.\nThe spending measure theCongressmandid not support contained massive amounts of Department of Defense spending and $1.375 billion for President Trump's unwanted border wall.\nCongressman Cohen made the following statement:\nThese spending bills are a major investment in the true needs of the American people but the amount of defense spending, and funding for Trump's border wall, caused me to vote against the second measure. Recent revelations about Pentagon lies about progress in Afghanistan, and the rampant corruption our spending there has caused, was reason enough to vote against the measure.Ialso declinedto acquiesce in an unnecessary and wasteful border wall.\nReversing the gun-lobby ban on federal research into gun violence will save lives.And mending our social safety net programs and bolstering medical research programs will strengthen American society. All of these provisions have now passed the House.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-votes-record-level-spending-health-and-education"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6095400787889957, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}