Constitution
"As today's one-sided hearing title suggests, we will likely hear a series of allegations leveled against Planned Parenthood that it engaged in unlawful conduct based solely on a series of deceptively-edited undercover videos.
"Notably, the Center for Medical Progress – the entity that filmed these videos and which could answer significant and troubling questions about their accuracy and veracity -- is not here today.
"In addition, the Majority chose not to invite Planned Parenthood, the target of today's attacks.
"As we hear from our witnesses, we should keep in mind the following points.
Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. John J.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) today released the following statement in observance of the 50th Anniversary of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965:
"50 years ago, Democrats and Republicans set aside partisan divisions to enact the Voting Rights Act – the Crown Jewel of our civil rights laws. A little more than 40 years after the bill's enactment, America elected its first African American president.
House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. and Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson today expressed great concern with an opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel that allows the Justice Department to deny access to records sought by the Inspector General.
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) released the following joint statement in response to the decision to open an investigation into allegations that Planned Parenthood altered procedures to "sell" fetal tissues for profit:
"House Leadership is using a sensationalist and heavily-edited video as an opportunity to attack one of the nation's leading providers of high-quality health care for women. Chairman Goodlatte's suggestion of wrongdoing is wholly unsubstantiated by the video in question.
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement after the United States Supreme Court announced that same-sex marriage is legal in a 5-4 decision in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges:
"In this landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has yet again confirmed that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to equal protections of the laws. I applaud this decision recognizing marriage equality as a constitutional right. It affirms the essential role of the Constitution in protecting the right to make our most intimate decisions and upholds our human dignity."
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Goodlatte, Conyers, Sensenbrenner, Nadler Applaud Clean Passage of the USA Freedom Act in the Senate
Following the Senate vote approving the House-passed USA Freedom Act by a vote of 67- 32, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the following joint statement:
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) issued the following statement on the resignation of Middle District of Alabama Judge Mark Fuller, who was arrested in August 2014 for physically assaulting his wife in a hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia, a violation of state criminal law.
"It is a rare occasion when the U.S. Congress impeaches a federal judge and removes the accused from the bench, but it is a necessary tool to protect the integrity of our judicial system.
The House Judiciary Committee has announced the following hearings and meeting for next week.
TUESDAY, JUNE 2
"These amendments only serve to weaken the House-passed bill and postpone timely enactment of legislation that responsibly protects national security while enhancing civil liberty protections."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the following joint statement on proposed Senate amendments to the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048):
Following the Senate vote to proceed with debate on the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the following joint statement:
Following the Senate vote rejecting the USA Freedom Act, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the following joint statement:
Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the following statement regarding attempts at a short-term extension in the Senate of the Patriot Act and other reported proposals.
Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the following statement urging the Senate to pass the USA Freedom Act of 2015.
Today, during a full House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Policing Strategies for the 21st Century," Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) delivered the following opening statement:
"Law enforcement accountability is an issue that is very topical given current events, but also one that has long been a concern of mine and many other Members.
"As a Member of Congress, I have stood on the streets of Detroit with a bullhorn and appealed for calm while my city burned around me in 1967. On too many occasions, I have met with the grieving relatives of those who have lost their lives at the hands of the police.
The following is the House Judiciary Committee's schedule for the week May 18 - 22.
Tuesday, May 19 2015
10:00 a.m. 2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Full Committee Hearing: Policing Strategies for the 21st Century
Witnesses for the Hearing:
On Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "Policing Strategies for the 21st Century." This hearing will examine police accountability, aggression towards law enforcement, public safety concerns related to these issues, and solutions to address these problems.
Witnesses for Tuesday's hearing are:
· Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr., Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
· Mr. W. Craig Hartley, Jr., Executive Director, Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies
Lee, Leahy, Sensenbrenner, Goodlatte, Conyers, Nadler: "We will oppose any extension of the NSA's bulk collection program."
Today, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), issued the following statement urging the Senate to take up and pass the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015.
The House of Representatives today approved by a vote of 338-88 the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048). This bipartisan bill – introduced by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), reforms our nation's intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Today, during debate on the House Floor of H.R. 36, the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Act," House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. urged his colleagues to vote in opposition to the measure. Rep. Conyers delivered the following remarks, as prepared for delivery:
"Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a dangerous and far reaching attack on a woman's constitutional right to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy - a right that the Supreme Court guaranteed 42 years ago in Roe v. Wade.
Today, during debate on the House Floor of H.R. 2048, the "USA FREEDOM Act," House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. urged his colleagues to vote in support of measure. Rep. Conyers delivered the following remarks as prepared for delivery:
"Mr. Speaker, with the passage of the USA FREEDOM Act today, the House will have done its part to enact historic and sweeping reforms to the government's surveillance powers. This legislation ends bulk collection, creates a panel of experts to guide the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and mandates extensive government reporting.
The following is the House Judiciary Committee's schedule for the week May 11th - May 15th.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
10:00 a.m. Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
Witnesses:
· Ms. Mei-lan Stark, Immediate Past President, International Trademark Association
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the statement below after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the National Security Agency's bulk collection program is not authorized under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. They are the authors of the USA Freedom Act (H.R.
The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 25-2 the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048). This bipartisan bill – introduced by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) – reforms our nation's intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill currently has 26 bipartisan cosponsors, most of whom are on the House Judiciary Committee.
Statements for the Record: