{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-applauds-doj-lawsuit-challenging-constitutionality-texas-voter-id-law", "Cohen Applauds DOJ Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of Texas Voter ID Law", "2013-08-22", "2013", "2013-08", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[MEMPHIS, TN] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced his support of the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) new lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of a recently-passed Texas law that threatens to disenfranchise countless voters. This move by the DOJ carries exceptional weight in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that left important provisions of the Voting Rights Act in limbo and raised questions about whether the civil rights of millions of Americans\u2014including minority groups who have historically been oppressed\u2014would remain protected. The Congressman made the following statement:\n\u201cMake no mistake, the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that gutted important provisions of the landmark Voting Rights Act was an affront to civil rights in this country,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cWhile Congress works to fix the Supreme Court\u2019s mistake, I am glad that Attorney General Holder is not waiting for even more discrimination against minorities before using every tool at his disposal to aggressively fight for the civil and human rights that we fought for decades to obtain.\u201d\n\u201cAs we approach the 50th anniversary of the Great March on Washington that led to the Voting Rights Act, protecting the right of every American to vote is especially important. Thankfully, today\u2019s move by the Department of Justice to protect our citizens is a win for civil rights and a win for all Americans.\u201d\nEarlier today, the DOJ announced that it will file a new lawsuit against the State of Texas, the Texas Secretary of State, and the Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety over the State\u2019s strict voter photo identification law (SB 14). The United States\u2019 complaint seeks a declaration that SB 14 violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the voting guarantees of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Separately, the Department is filing a motion to intervene as a party and a complaint in intervention against the State of Texas and the Texas Secretary of State in the ongoing case of Perez v. Perry (W.D. Tex.), which concerns the state\u2019s redistricting laws.", 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": ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-applauds-doj-lawsuit-challenging-constitutionality-texas-voter-id-law"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5130420215427876, "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"}