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The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs plays a central role in reviewing regulations issued by Executive Branch agencies as well as working to improve the process and quality of federal rulemakings.

It has been 3 years since Administrator Shelanksi was appointed to head OIRA. Accordingly, I would very much appreciate hearing his thoughts on the current state of affairs with respect federal rulemakings and whether any legislative fixes are needed.

Once again, in its 7^th hearing to date, this Task Force is considering old wine in new bottles.

Unfortunately, today's hearing is just the latest in a decades-old line of attack by conservatives on America's longstanding commitments to aid the elderly and the poor.

As we consider the arguments made today, we should keep a few points in mind.

To begin with, efforts to curb "mandatory spending" and stopping the so-called "entitlement crisis" are really intended to slash programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

The crisis of opioid abuse and addiction clearly requires our immediate attention.

In my state of Michigan, for example, there were 1,745 drug overdose deaths in 2014. And, more than half of those overdose deaths were caused by opioids and heroin. Each day, 78 Americans die from an opioid overdose.

Fortunately, we now have better ways of addressing issues of addiction, and we know that incarceration is not the answer.

(Tuesday, July 5, 2016) – Ahead of Wednesday's public meeting of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) conference committee, Democratic conferees are urging their Republican counterparts to support the addition of $920 million fully paid for by bipartisan offsets for states to provide critical resources to respond to the nation's opioid and heroin epidemic.

The House Judiciary Committee has announced a markup for Thursday, July 7, 2016. Below is the Committee's schedule for the week of July 5-8, 2016.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6

10:00 a.m. Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet

Hearing on: "The Judicial Branch and the Efficient Administration of Justice"

Witness:

• Mr. James Duff, Director, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

2237 Rayburn House Office Building

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) today released the following joint statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt decision, which ruled that Texas' abortion law was unconstitutional:

Detroit, MI – Following the third anniversary of the 2013 Supreme Court Shelby County v. Holder decision which stripped away critical provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) will host a voting rights forum in Detroit on Tuesday, June 28^th at 6:30 PM. The forum will be held at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School.

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 joint statement today after the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States failed to reach a majority decision on the United States v. Texas case:

"Today the Supreme Court issued a split decision that sets no precedent but leaves in place a lower court preliminary injunction blocking the President's immigration executive actions.