Press Releases
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security
1:00 p.m. in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Hearing on: Oversight of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Witness: The Honorable Leon Rodriguez, Director, USCIS
"As of this morning, the bill has earned 304 cosponsors-191 Republicans, 113 Democrats, and 27 members of the House Judiciary Committee. What do all of these members have in common?
"First, we all agree that the Electronic Communications Privacy Act is outdated and provides unjustifiably inconsistent standards for government access to our stored communications.
"This statute continues to serve as one of the main guarantees of our digital privacy.
Today, U.S. Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ranking Member on the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee, issued the following statement marking the one-year anniversary of the President's Executive Actions to fix our broken immigration system and after the Department of Justice filed a petition to seek review before the Supreme Court to overturn a Fifth Circuit Court order blocking two of the executive actions:
"Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4038, the so-called 'American SAFE Act,' purports to make us safer.
"But, as the Administration correctly observes, this measure 'would provide no meaningful additional security for the American people.'
"Worse yet, it would effectively deny refugee status for Syrians and Iraqis who are themselves victims of terrorism in their homelands.
"H.R. 4038 is a terribly flawed and inhumane bill for many reasons.
"This hearing, which focuses on the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on the security of our Nation's Refugee Admissions Program, has the potential to shed meaningful light on critical issues of interest to all Americans.
The House Judiciary Committee today approved by voice vote bipartisan legislation to reform federal sentencing laws. The Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 3713) – authored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Congressman Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), and Congressman Mike Bishop (R-Mich.) – is part of the House Judiciary Committee's ongoing bipartisan criminal justice reform initiative.
"H.R. 3713, the 'Sentencing Reform Act,' responds to the growing recognition, in our states and now in Congress, that we must make meaningful reforms to various aspects of our criminal justice system – particularly mandatory minimum sentencing.
"As with any policy, it is our responsibility in Congress to examine the facts and make adjustments from time-to-time, and the facts demand that we take action on this issue.
"In the 110th Congress, when I was Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the Committee reported legislation that would have granted a limited antitrust exemption for independent pharmacies to allow them to collectively bargain as to the terms and conditions of reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers.
"This legislation arose from the recognition that small, independent pharmacies struggle to compete against large pharmacy chains, particularly with respect to their ability to negotiate reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers.
"Madam Attorney General, welcome to the House Judiciary Committee.
"Nearly seven months ago, after much delay in the Senate, you took over for our friend Eric Holder at the Department of Justice.
"With, not one, but two tours of duty as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, you are unquestionably the right leader at this moment for the important work of the Department.