By Bill Dries
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis calls the Tennessee Promise last dollar scholarship program for community college and state technical centers "a fraud."
And last week he said a plan by President Barack Obama to model a federal program on Tennessee Promise probably won't get past the Republican majorities in the U.S. Senate and House.
Cohen has been critical of Tennessee Promise from the moment it was proposed in 2014 by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
At a townhall meeting Downtown last week, Cohen remained sharply critical of the program and Haslam personally.
"How much did Haslam raise?" Cohen asked of the last dollar scholarship that is funded from the reserve fund of the Tennessee lottery.
"Zero," he said, answering his own question, before saying of Haslam -- "The same amount of money he earned in his life. His daddy gave him everything. His daddy gave him money to live. I gave him money to have Tennessee Promise."
Cohen was the architect of the Tennessee Lottery and the Hope scholarship program it funds.
Tennessee Promise, which was approved by the Tennessee legislature in 2014 and takes effect this year, offers two years of free community college or state technical center courses for all Tennessee high school graduates who apply for but don't qualify for federal Pell grants.
"People whose income is over $40,000 and people who didn't make the grade in high school -- more affluent, less achievers. They get most of the money," Cohen said. "The money should go to the middle-income kids who are making the grade. It's just something (Haslam) could find some money to use to have something to claim he did and the president unfortunately latched onto it."
Obama touted Tennessee Promise earlier this month during a visit to Knoxville in advance of his state of the Union address. The Republican governor took some political criticism from those of his own party in the legislature for appearing with the Democratic president in Knoxville.
Cohen counts himself among Obama's most vocal supporters and loyal allies on Capital Hill and one of his earliest political supporters in Memphis when the Illinois senator sought the Democratic presidential nomination and former First Lady and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton was the favorite to get the party's nod in 2008.
"The President's plan won't see the light of day in Congress," Cohen predicted of any federal legislation on the community college scholarships that the White House might send to Congress. "Republicans don't want it and in fact I don't think you should make community college free. I think you should increase Pell grants, which means the money will go to people who need it the most. It should be means tested."
Cohen wasn't present for the Knoxville trip of Obama.
But when Obama visited Nashville in December, Cohen found himself in the presidential limousine with the president, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Tennessee's other Democratic Congressman, Jim Cooper of Nashville.
Obama asked Dean and Cooper for an update on the economy in Nashville during the ride, Cohen said. Both gave a glowing report on the capital city's comeback from the recession.
Cohen said he agreed with Dean and Cooper, telling Obama, "Nashville's doing great. It's Memphis that needs your help."
And Cohen says even with the differences he still has the president's ear.
"I think my relationship with Republicans on the hill is very, very good and I plan to continue to work on that," he said. "My relationship with the president is better and when you are in the minority, the main things you can get done is working with the president."
He continues to work and seek votes on legislation that would create a nationwide registry on instances in which police or other local law enforcement officers use deadly force. Cohen also said he is proposing a bill that would take the decision on whether to charge officers in such instances out of the hands of local prosecutors.
"Give it to a statewide nonpartisan non-political group that would be named probably by the governor is what we think," he said.
"DAs, police and law enforcement work hand in glove. That's the way it works," said Cohen, who is a former legal advisor to the Memphis Police Department.
With an indictment of a police officer, Cohen believes work slowdowns and other signs of disapproval by rank and file officers like those seen in New York City recently are likely to happen.
"Hopefully we can get somewhere by using the federal budgetary arm to make sure police work with us and get independent prosecutors and reportage on deadly force," Cohen said. "It will be tough."