Press Releases

Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary; and Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, today underscored the potential threat of Russia's interference in an American election, and urged the Administration to take steps to prevent Russia's manipulation of the American political process.

Today, Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Jason Chaffetz, Chairman of the Oversight Committee, John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Committee on Judiciary, Stephen F. Lynch, and Hakeem Jeffries, introduced H. R. 5920, the Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act, to expand whistleblower protections to additional federal contractors and grantees.

The bipartisan working group on policing strategies – announced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) – met to discuss the issues of the use of excessive force by police, aggression towards law enforcement, and public safety concerns related to these issues.

Without question, the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks deserve our sympathy and our help. And, our Committee has worked to enact into law measures that attempt to provide some relief to these victims.

As we consider S. 2040, the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act," however, we must keep in mind that this legislation is written in general terms and we should consider its impact beyond one case, however compelling that case may be.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) today announced the establishment of a working group to examine police accountability, aggression towards law enforcement, and public safety concerns related to these issues. The bipartisan working group will hold a series of roundtables, starting with a private roundtable in Washington, D.C., to candidly discuss the issues fueling excessive force used by law enforcement and attacks against police officers and will invite outside leaders on this issue to meet with the working group.

As part of the House Judiciary Committee's bipartisan criminal justice reform initiative, the Committee today approved by voice vote a bill to reauthorize a federal grant program targeted at reducing crime among youth.

Mr. Chairman, I support H.R. 68, which would reauthorize and update the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program. This program is an important part of the comprehensive effort to help states improve and operate their juvenile justice systems.

I commend my colleague, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, for her work on this important bill and for her steadfast work to reform the ways our criminal justice and juvenile justice systems treat young offenders.

Thank you, Madam Attorney General, for being with us today.

The news of the past few days has been full of questions about violence, civil rights, and the safety of our police officers-and I want you to know that we take seriously the burden of each of these questions on your office.

It will not have escaped your attention that we are in the middle of election season. You may also know that there are just three working days left until we break for the summer-and, really, not much more time after that until the Congress ends.