Today the Senate voted 69 to 27 to pass S. 336, the “Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013.” This legislation would give states the option to require the collection of sales and use taxes already owed under state law by out-of-state businesses, rather than rely on consumers to remit those taxes to the states. Under the current tax loophole, while brick-and-mortar retailers collect sales and use taxes f... Read more »
Today, President Obama nominated Congressman Melvin L. “Mel” Watt (D-N.C.) to serve as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the independent federal regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage financiers. Rep. Watt has represented the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina since 1993, and he currently serves as the ranking member of the Court... Read more »
Last night, in a proceeding convened in a Boston hospital room, a federal magistrate read criminal charges against Dzhokar Tsarnaev and advised him of his legal rights. Following reports of this proceeding, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement: “The Obama administration should be commended for sticking by its principles and the rule of law. The man in custody is a United... Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives voted 288 to 127 to pass H.R. 624, the “Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act” (CISPA). This legislation overrides current privacy laws to permit private companies to share information with the federal government if there is a suspected cyber threat, but does not require the companies to remove unrelated private information of customers from what they tu... Read more »
Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled, “Mismanagement at the Civil Right Division of the Department of Justice.” During his opening remarks, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement: “Mr. Chairman, once again, I must object to the title of this hearing: ‘Mismanagement at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Ju... Read more »
Rep. Conyers receives the Archibald Cox Uncommon Heroes of Watergate Award at Common Cause's "The Lessons of Watergate" conference at the National Press Club. Read more »
This afternoon, the Obama administration announced the appointment of Melanie Roussell to the position of Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Following this announcement, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement: “I am delighted to learn that Melanie Roussell, my former Communications Director with the House Judici... Read more »
Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Congressman C. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an investigation into emergency managers in Michigan. Reps. Conyers and Peters issued this statement following their transmission of the letter to the GAO: John Conyers, Jr.: “It is difficult to identify a single instance where an emergency ... Read more »
This afternoon, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled, “The Release of Criminal Detainees by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Policy or Politics?” At the hearing, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement during his opening remarks: “The title of today’s hearing—‘The Release of Criminal Detainees by U.S. Immigration and C... Read more »
