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Today, the House Judiciary Committee is considering H.R. 3261, the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA), a bill to combat online intellectual property theft and protect American jobs and consumers. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) produced additional documents requested by the House Judiciary Committee through a subpoena issued by the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) made the following statement in response:
Today, the House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing on the United States Department of Justice at which U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified. The Majority focused most of their questioning on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) tactics during Operation Fast and Furious, a local operation planned by agents and prosecutors in Arizona. Operation Fast and Furious used the same "gun walking" tactics initiated by investigations such as Operation Wide Receiver during the Bush administration.
Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 10, the "Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011" (REINS Act). H.R. 10 creates an unworkable process that will make it nearly impossible for new regulations to be enacted by giving Congress only 70 days in which to consider and approve major rules. The REINS Act is the latest in a trio of anti-regulation measures considered by the House of Representatives within the past week. House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) made the following statement:
Today, the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet held an oversight hearing on the antitrust enforcement agencies. The top federal officials charged with enforcing antitrust laws, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz and Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis Pozen of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, testified before the subcommittee. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) made the following statement:
Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1021, the "Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act of 2011." The bill extends by 5 years the authorizations for 30 temporary bankruptcy judgeships in 20 judicial districts around the country. Included in the bill is an amendment authored by Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) which provided for the extension of many additional temporary judgeships across the country, including one in the Eastern District of Michigan.
Today, the House of Representatives began consideration of a series of bills aimed at disrupting the regulatory process that is responsible for protecting the health and safety of millions of Americans. H.R. 527, the Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act, H.R. 3010, the Regulatory Accountability Act, and H.R. 10, the REINS Act all will undermine a host of regulatory protections. These protections range from food, product and workplace safety standards to financial fraud prevention rules.
Today, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on "Constitutional Limitations on States' Authority to Collect Sales Taxes." In the 1992 Quill Decision, the Supreme Court struck down a North Dakota law that required an out-of-state business to remit sales taxes on in-state customers because the business in question did not have a substantial enough presence in the state. However in the opinion, the Justices specifically stated that Congress is in a better position to resolve the issue and possessed the Constitutional authority to do so.