releases: http://cooper.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cooper-behind-drive-to-fund-nashville-courthouse-0
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| http://cooper.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cooper-behind-drive-to-fund-nashville-courthouse-0 | Cooper Behind Drive to Fund Nashville Courthouse | 2015-11-24 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Democrat | House | TN | Jim Cooper | C000754 | cooper.house.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05) headed a congressional effort this month to fund a new federal courthouse in Nashville. Led by Cooper, the Congressional Courthouse Caucus and much of Tennessees congressional delegation sent separate letters to the top Members of the House Appropriations Committee, which determines how money is allocated to federal projects. We are all very sensitive to the funding challenges you face in tight budgetary times, but conditions have been deteriorating in federal courthouses for decades, Cooper wrote. Nowhere is this more apparent than Nashville, where weve reached a critical situation. For the first time, Nashvilles need for a courthouse was included in President Obamas FY 2016 budget; it also was listed in the Senates FY 2016 appropriations bill. The existing Estes Kefauver Federal Courthouse was first deemed inadequate in 1992, and Nashville tops the Judicial Conferences national list of priorities for courthouse construction. In 2002, the federal government selected the downtown property on Church Street as the site of the new building and purchased the parcels making up the site from 2002-2005. Since then, further studies and the lack of funding have delayed construction on any new federal courthouse. Cooper was a founding member of the Congressional Courthouse Caucus, which was formed to address the urgent need for functional, secure courthouses around the country. Cooper has written to President Obama and Members of the House Appropriations Committee several times asking them to prioritize courthouse funding.Cooper has also met with the General Services Administration regarding the public safety hazard that sits atop the site designated for Nashvilles new courthouse, urging its immediate demolition. The letters are attached here and here. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |