Government Oversight

This morning, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following opening statement during a House Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, "The Obama Administration's Abuse of Power":

(DETROIT)-Last week, a three-judge District Court in D.C. blocked onerous legislation requiring an individual to show a photo identification before casting a ballot in an election. The court found the law to be discriminatory, and would effectively limit the right to vote of minorities and poor voters. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement following the court's decision:

Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights at a hearing entitled "Ending Racial Profiling in America." He spoke to the need for Congress to enact his legislation to end racial profiling by law enforcement and the importance of community based policing as means to not only stop crime but to also protect citizens' civil rights. Ranking Member Conyers is the lead House cosponsor of H.R. 3618, the "End Racial Profiling Act."

Today the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on "Executive Overreach: The President's Unprecedented 'Recess' Appointments". The hearing's purpose is to examine President Obama's recent recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and 3 members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

– Yesterday, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MIch.) joined his colleagues Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Robert Brady (D-Pa.) as an original cosponsor of H.R. 4010, the DISCLOSE Act of 2012, a bill to require the disclosure of corporate and special interest money in politics. In the 2010 Citizens United case, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional limits Congress placed on independent spending by corporations for political purposes.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a consolidated case involving recent changes to Texas' congressional district map. According to the 2010 census, Texas gained more than 4 million new residents with much of the growth occurring in the state's African American and Latino population. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), Texas must seek preclearance from the Department of Justice for changes to its congressional district map to ensure against retrogression – that minority voters are not worse off under the new plans.