Press Releases
U.S. Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, together with 31 original cosponsors, introduced H.R. 4754, the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act of 2016 to address unchecked decision-making powers that appointed emergency financial managers have in financially distressed cities.
Today's Executive Overreach Task Force hearing examines whether President Obama has violated the U.S. Constitution with respect to his authority to enforce the Affordable Care Act and the immigration laws. These are both issues that the full Committee has repeatedly considered in the past and it is clear to me that the President has not violated any constitutional limitations on the exercise of his executive authority as to either of these areas.
Today's hearing focuses on whether the Supreme Court's articulation of judicial deference in Chevron is a concept that should be retained in federal administrative law. I believe the Chevron doctrine should be retained for several reasons.
To begin with, enhanced judicial review would make rulemaking even more costly and time-consuming for agencies.
The federal rulemaking process is already deeply ossified.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
10:00 a.m. Executive Overreach Task Force Hearing
2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Hearing on: "Executive Overreach in Domestic Affairs Part I – Health Care and Immigration"
Witnesses:
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), and the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) today released the following joint statement in the wake of the death of Tiffany May Joslyn, Deputy Chief Counsel of the Crime Subcommittee (Democratic staff), who died on Saturday, March 5, 2016:
"At the markup for the resolution establishing the Executive Overreach Task Force, I had expressed the concern that this Task Force might be used as a platform for partisan political attacks.
"I also expressed the hope that we could work collaboratively in some areas of mutual interest, in particular those centering on strengthening Congress's ability to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch.
"I remain hopeful that there is room on this Task Force for some bipartisan cooperation.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to associate myself with your comments about our jurisdiction.
"It is not an accident that the House Judiciary Committee is the committee of primary jurisdiction with respect to the legal architecture of government surveillance.
"In times of heightened tension, many of our colleagues will rush to do something, anything, to get out in front of an issue. We welcome their voices in the debate-but it is here, in this Committee room, that the House begins to make decisions about the tools and methods available to law enforcement.
TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
10:00 a.m. Executive Overreach Task Force Hearing
2237 Rayburn House Office Building
"The Original Understanding of the Role of Congress and How Far We've Drifted From It"
Witnesses:
"H.R. 3624, the so-called "Fraudulent Joinder Prevention Act of 2016," is not really about fraud. Rather, this measure is just the latest attempt to tilt the civil justice system in favor of corporate defendants by making it more difficult for plaintiffs to pursue state law claims in state courts.
"I say this for several reasons. To begin with, H.R. 3624 addresses a nonexistent problem.
On Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans' Security and Privacy." The House Judiciary Committee previously held member briefings on encryption, which included a briefing from technology companies and a classified briefing from the government.