In a speech on the House floor on January 18 , 2011 , Cohen said of the Republican effort to repeal the Obama administration 's health care reform law : They say it 's a government takeover of health care , a big lie just like Goebbels . You say it enough , you repeat the lie , you repeat the lie , you repeat the lie and eventually , people believe it . Like blood libel . That 's the same kind of thing . The Germans said enough about the Jews and the people believed it and you had the Holocaust . You tell a lie over and over again . And we 've heard on this floor , government takeover of health care . According to Cohen 's hometown paper , the '' Memphis Commercial Appeal '' , he was " accused of upsetting the newfound atmosphere of civility in the House " following the assassination attempt on Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords . Republicans , as well as many in the media and in the Jewish community , expressed outrage and demanded that Democrats condemn Cohen 's comment . Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency wrote that " someone needs to carpet Cohen , pronto , for his rhetoric . " His remarks were also condemned by the National Jewish Democratic Council , which issued a statement saying that " invoking the Holocaust to make a political point is never acceptable — on either side of the aisle . Cohen 's comments and similar comments made by others are not helpful as our leaders and citizens conduct a joint effort to advance civility in our political discourse . We implore Cohen and all our leaders to choose their words carefully as we move forward . " In response to the controversy , Cohen said " I said Goebbels lied about the Jews , and that led to the Holocaust . Not in any way whatsoever was I comparing Republicans to Nazis . I was saying lies are wrong . " Cohen later expressed regret for his remarks : I would certainly never do anything to diminish the horror of the Nazi Holocaust as I revere and respect the history of my people . I sponsored legislation which created one of the first state Holocaust Commissions in America and actively served as a Commission member for over 20 years . I regret that anyone in the Jewish Community , my Republican colleagues or anyone else was offended by the portrayal of my comments . My comments were not directed toward any group or people but at the false message and , specifically , the method by which it has been delivered . In March 2015 , Steve Cohen boycotted the speech of the Prime Minister of Israel to Congress , writing : " While Americans and members of Congress may disagree on anything , even foreign policy , providing a forum of such immense prestige and power to the leader of another country who is opposing our nation 's foreign policy is beyond the pale . It endangers the negotiations , insults the good faith of the other nations involved in the negotiations and emboldens Iran who may well view this schism in our government as an opportunity for advantage . While we can disagree with our President , we as a nation should be as one on our foreign policy and any disagreements should be presented in a respectful , appropriate and time-honored manner . " " In response , Israeli journalist Caroline Glick wrote in an opinion column in the '' Jerusalem Post '' : " Radical leftist representatives who happen to be Jewish , like Jan Schakowsky of suburban Chicago and Steve Cohen of Memphis , are joining Netanyahu 's boycotters in order to give the patina of Jewish legitimacy to an administration whose central foreign policy threatens the viability of the Jewish state . " On August 17 , 2017 , Cohen announced that he planned to bring forward articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump owing to the president 's series of comments regarding a white nationalist rally in Unite the Right rally on August 12 . Cohen stated on his website , I believe the President should be impeached and removed from office . Instead of unequivocally condemning hateful actions by neo-Nazis , white nationalists and Klansmen following a national tragedy , the President said ' there were very fine people on both sides . ' There are no good Nazis . There are no good Klansmen . On April 25 , 2018 , 57 members of the House of Representatives , including Cohen , released a condemnation of Holocaust distortion in Ukraine and Poland . They criticized Poland ’s new Holocaust law , which would criminalize accusing Poles of complicity in the Holocaust , and Ukraine ’s 2015 memory laws glorifying Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( UPA ) and its pro-Nazi leaders , such as Roman Shukhevych
assassination attempt
2011 Tucson shooting
Steve Cohen