Media Center

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in McCullen v. Coakley, striking down a Massachusetts state law requiring a 35-foot fixed buffer zone around healthcare clinics while affirming the legality of buffer zones generally. After the ruling, Ranking Members John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) delivered the following statement:

Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled, "An Administration Made Disaster: The South Texas Border Surge of Unaccompanied Alien Minors." This hearing comes as a humanitarian crisis in parts of Central America is felt along the Southwest border of the United States - where thousands of children have arrived in recent weeks - largely as a result of violence occurring in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. As the hearing got underway, full committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement:

Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Chairman Robert C. "Bob" Goodlatte (R-Va.), Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble (R-N.C.), and Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) applauded the announcement that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Grassley (R-Iowa) have reached an agreement on legislation to allow consumers to unlock their cell phones.

Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee Markup of H.R. 4874, the "Search for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act of 2014." Section 101(K) of the bill funds a new Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission by taking $ 25 million or 1%, whichever is greater, of unobligated funding from federal agencies. Under any methodology this figure would reach into the billions. After voting against H.R. 4874, Ranking Members John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:

Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) introduced H.R.4835, the "Stopping Abusive Student Loan Collection Practices in Bankruptcy Act of 2014." This legislation curtails ruthless collection tactics used by creditors against borrowers who have taken out student loans and sought bankruptcy relief. In particular, the legislation empowers a bankruptcy judge to award both the costs and attorney's fees to borrowers in bankruptcy cases where student loan creditors engaged in abusive litigation.