Steve Cohen

The Constitution makes clear that all legislative power is 'vested' in the Congress, Article 1.

The ACA has allowed almost 18 million Americans to get health insurance, including more than 236,000 Tennesseans who have received health insurance through ACA's changes.

The Origination Clause ensures that the House--important--people's House, has the first say when it comes to bills raising revenue, and it's the Chamber most closest to the people.

I question the need for today's hearing when lower courts have already spoken and when the Supreme Court may be about to speak on this issue.

Last night was a great opportunity to hear the President's last State of the Union speech. Unfortunately, it will be his last, but it was probably his greatest, inspiring us as to what we as Americans should be doing to move our country…

Justice delayed is justice denied.

I would hope you would look into initiating, which you can, taking it off the Schedule 1. It's crazy to have it with LSD and heroin, and it should not be there and it should be studied.

It's not because of the marijuana and the need to have it on the street level basis where people need to commit violence to get money to buy a drug. It's because we did the same mistake with marijuana that we did in the twenties with…

I'd be willing to say I've never questioned your integrity, Congressman, and if it came to a question of--questioning mine, I'd be willing to put my reputation up against yours any day.

I commend you for that.

I appreciate being part of this bill, and thank you for your efforts. I yield back the balance of my time.

I appreciate Planned Parenthood for what they do for lower income women, for women who need health services.

The fact is this hearing is just like Benghazi. It's just like the Select Committee on Planned Parenthood. It's politics.

There is not any evidence that there has been any law violated, and there isn't, and yet we're having a special Committee.

It was politics, just like Benghazi was politics, and Kevin McCarthy told you it was politics.

I'm just begging for you people to protect women. This is not a good choice for women. Protect us.

That outrage you feel, that nagging feeling that the government has no right to put any restrictions on your constitutional rights: that is what a woman feels every time she tries to make a decision about her health.

You can walk into a gun show at noon and walk out 15 minutes later with a high-capacity magazine and a semiautomatic rifle in your hands.

Women must endure invasive tests and exams, wait 48 hours before they can undergo the procedure, take time off from work to visit the one facility in the State where abortion is still available.

If my colleagues had even one shred of evidence that Planned Parenthood had broken any laws, they would have gone to a State or Federal prosecutor right away.

I think that is very telling testimony, all edited out and wouldn't be seen in those videos that they are talking about.

Let us not forget this entire exercise is based on heavily edited videos doctored to make Planned Parenthood to be engaged in unlawful conduct, which it isn't.

I also suspect they disagree with me and most of my Democratic colleagues who strongly believe in Planned Parenthood and the 97 percent of its work that is not abortion.

Yet the same colleagues who refuse to take any action on gun violence have no problem tossing the Constitution out the window to impose their own moral opinions on all American women.

Imagine how many lives we could save if my colleagues devoted even one half of that attention to stopping the epidemic, and it is an epidemic, of gun violence in this country.