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Statement of Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr.
Hearing on: Compulsory Video Licenses of Title 17
Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 2:00 P.M.
2141 Rayburn Building
Statement of Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr.
Markup of: H.R. 3361, the "USA FREEDOM Act"
Full Committee
Wednesday, May 7, 2014 at 1:00 A.M.
2141 Rayburn Building
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. We are, for the most part, lawyers. And we are prone to asking difficult questions of government officials who are not always accustomed to giving their answers in public. But we ask these difficult questions because we are the proper forum for a complex discussion about privacy and civil liberties.
The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 32-0 the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 3361), a bipartisan bill authored by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) to reform our nation's intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including ending the bulk collection of data.
The House of Representatives passed the strongly bipartisan H.R. 4292, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act by a vote of 388-4. By making a change to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, this legislation strengthens the ability of U.S. museums and schools to borrow foreign government-owned artwork and cultural artifacts. The bill was approved by the House Judiciary Committee on April 2, 2014.
As announced last month, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold an oversight hearing on the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 8th.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today announced that on Wednesday, May 7 at 1:00 p.m., the House Judiciary Committee will markup the USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 3361), legislation introduced by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) to reform our nation's intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Today, Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole announced six criteria the Department of Justice will consider when reviewing and expediting clemency applications – for President Obama's review and approval – from a select group of non-violent individuals behind bars. These petitions will be prioritized for review over other clemency petitions that do not require all six criteria.
(DETROIT) – Today, the United States Supreme Court in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, reversed the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit's ruling and upheld Michigan Proposal 2 prohibiting affirmative action in public education, government contracting, and public employment. Today's decision did not deal with the issue of race-conscious admissions generally, which have been previously upheld and which the court reiterated today. After the ruling, ranking member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Jr.
One year ago today, eight members of the U.S. Senate – Senators Schumer, Durbin, McCain, Rubio, Bennet, Menendez, Flake and Graham – introduced S. 744, the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act." This comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system would bring millions of undocumented immigrants out of the shadows, strengthen American businesses, families, and communities, and spur much-needed economic growth. While the U.S. Senate passed S. 744 on a bipartisan vote of 68-32, the U.S.
Today, U.S. House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) reintroduced the "Democracy Restoration Act of 2014." This legislation would reinstate the right to vote in federal elections for millions of Americans with a past conviction who are currently out of prison. In the United States today, there are more than 5.8 million individuals who are ineligible to vote due to a felony conviction, yet nearly 4 million of those citizens are no longer in prison and almost 3 million disenfranchised individuals have completed their entire sentence.