Government Oversight
To advance its legislative agenda, the Judiciary Committee conducts regular oversight of the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among other government agencies. The Committee is also responsible for determining whether to recommend articles of impeachment against federal officials. In 2019, the Committee advanced two articles of impeachment against Donald J. Trump to the House of Representatives.
More on Government Oversight
Today, the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on H.R. 822, the "National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011." The bill would override the laws of almost every state by obligating each to accept concealed handgun carry permits from every other state, even if the permit holder would not be allowed to obtain such a permit or carry a gun in the state in which he or she is traveling. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement in response to the hearing:
Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2076, a bill allowing the attorney general and the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide assistance at the request of state and local law enforcement officials in the investigation of mass killings and other violent acts such as school and workplace shootings.
Today, the Ranking Members of the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, and the Judiciary wrote to Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa urging him to withdraw his unilateral subpoena demanding documents from the National Labor Relations Board relating to its investigation of Boeing's alleged discrimination against workers in Washington State.
Today, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) said that the Democratic Staff of the House Judiciary Committee will review allegations that News Corporation ("News Corp.") has engaged in serious and systemic invasions of privacy. News Corp. is a United States media corporation with international operations.
Today, on the fortieth anniversary of President Nixon declaring a "War on Drugs," Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) joined Dr. Ron Daniels, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and others at the National Press Club for a forum entitled, "Declaring War on the War on Drugs," to discuss how Nixon's initiative has too often made the American people the victims.
Today House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) commended U.S. Justice Department Attorney General Eric Holder for extending the tenure of FBI Director Robert Mueller for an additional two years. First nominated by former President George W. Bush on September 4, 2001, Director Mueller's 10-year term was set to expire later this year.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement on his take of yesterday's hearing on "Raising the Agencies' Grades – Protecting the Economy, Assuring Regulatory Quality and Improving Assessments of Regulatory Need."