{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cohen.house.gov/taxonomy/story-type/enewsletters/praising-department-justice-its-decision-collect-data-police-use", "Praising the Department of Justice for its Decision to Collect Data on Police Use of Force", "2016-10-14", "2016", "2016-10", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nThis week, I praised the Department of Justice for announcing it would begin collecting data on force used by federal agents, welcomed NAACP President Cornell Brooks to Temple Israel in Memphis, was pleased to learn the DEA would delay placing kratom on its list of Schedule I drugs, and celebrated the wedding of my staff member Michael Fulton and his bride, Tia Pitt. Keep reading to learn more about my week and follow me on\u00a0Twitter\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook\u00a0to see these updates as they happen.\nPraising the Department of Justice for its Decision to Collect Data on Police Use of Force  Welcoming NAACP President Cornell Brooks to Memphis  Fighting for a Sensible Drug Policy  Celebrating the Wedding of Michael Fulton and Tia Pitt  Joining President Obama in Israel for the Funeral of Shimon Peres  2017 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available  Bringing Congress to your Corner\nPraising the Department of Justice for its Decision to Collect Data on Police Use of Force\nToday, I praised the Department of Justice for announcing it would begin collecting data on force used by federal agents and will help local law enforcement collect data of their own, something for which my bill, the National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act, has called for. This is a significant step in the right direction and a critical component to rebuilding trust between the police and the communities they serve. Read more about their decision and my bill\u00a0here.\nWelcoming NAACP President Cornell Brooks to Memphis\n  Photo credit to Lynn Eisenstatt\nOn Wednesday, Rabbi Micah Greenstein, Senior Rabbi at Temple Israel and a member of the NAACP national board, invited NAACP President Cornell Brooks to Temple Israel for Yom Kippur services. President Brooks spoke to the congregation on justice and the long history between the Jewish and African American communities. Jack Greenberg, the last living NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney who argued before the Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education case, passed away on Yom Kippur. He embodied the shared values that President Brooks spoke of that bind African Americans and Jews together. Rabbi Greenstein encouraged all members of Temple Israel to join the NAACP because we must all take part in fighting racial disparities that are still too prevalent in America.\u00a0\nFighting for a Sensible Drug Policy\nOn Thursday, I was pleased to hear that the DEA delayed placing kratom on their list of Schedule I drugs and will open a public comment period. It is important to have an open process, and a public comment period will give citizens a voice in this discussion. Read more\u00a0here.\nCelebrating the Wedding of Michael Fulton and Tia Pitt\nOn Saturday, my Senior Legislative Assistants Michael Fulton married the charming, bright and beautiful Tia Pitt in Maryland. Michael has been in my office since my first year in Congress. I am very proud of him and wish him and Tia a happy life together.\u00a0\nJoining President Obama in Israel for the Funeral of Shimon Peres\nLast month, I was\u00a0invited by President Obama to join him in Israel for the funeral of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Below are some pictures from my trip that I wanted to share with you.\n  Charles, Prince of Wales\n  Former President Bill Clinton\n  French President Fran\u00e7ois Hollande\n  Boarding the plane to Israel\n  Homage to Jerusalem by Alexander Calder on Mount Herzel in Jerusalem\n2017 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nMy office currently has a limited number of 2017 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive a calendar, please complete\u00a0this form\u00a0on my website. Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessee\u2019s Ninth District. Please feel free to share this email with other residents of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.\nBringing Congress to your Corner\nToday, I joined my staff for \u201cCongress on your Corner\u201d at the Ed Rice Community Center to assist constituents with questions or problems with federal agencies such as Social Security, Medicare, FHA, the VA and more. Thank you to everyone who attended.\u00a0Please\u00a0visit my website at\u00a0https://cohen.house.gov for more information on future Congress on your Corner events.\nGo Tigers!\nAs always, I remain.\u00a0  \n\tMost sincerely,  \u00a0  \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 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/taxonomy/story-type/enewsletters/praising-department-justice-its-decision-collect-data-police-use"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8260731119662523, "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"}