Cooper was named to the Senate Committee on Labor, Education and Public Welfare and chaired its education and labor subcommittees. He sponsored a bill authorizing public works projects along the Big Sandy River, including the Tug and Levisa forks. He also supported the reconstruction of the locks and dams along the Ohio River and the construction of locks, dams, and reservoirs in the Green River Valley. He opposed the Dixon-Yates contract, which would have paid a private company to construct a new power station to generate power for the city of Memphis, Tennessee, calling instead for authorization for the Tennessee Valley Authority to issue bonds to finance the construction of new power stations. He supported a comprehensive program benefiting the coal industry and cosponsored a bill to extending public library services to rural areas.