House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement in response to a Republican manager’s amendment to H.R. 4970, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), adopted by the House Committee on Rules yesterday evening. “The managers’ amendment is a fig leaf meant to cover the simple truth that this bill rolls back existing law and fails to... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) applauded President Obama’s support for marriage equality for same-sex couples. Ranking Member Conyers is an original cosponsor of H.R. 1116, the “Respect for Marriage Act” which would repeal the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA). As Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee during the 104th Congress, Repres... Read more »
Today at markup, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Committee Democrats opposed H.R. 4970, a Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”) Reauthorization bill that omits protections for vulnerable communities and removes existing protections for immigrant women. The bill omits language designed to protect Native American women by allowing tribal authorities to prosecut... Read more »
(DETROIT) – Last Thursday, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers ruled not to validate the petitions placing a referendum on Michigan’s emergency manager law on the ballot. In a split 2-2 decision, The Board did not validate the petitions after a group opposed to the referendum argued that text of the petition was not printed in the required 14 point font size, despite an affidavit submitted by t... Read more »
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on “The Department of Justice’s Guidance on Access to Pools and Spas Under the ADA.” The purpose of the hearing was to examine the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (“ADA”) more than 20 year old mandate for businesses to take “readily achievable” steps to increase access for people with disabili... Read more »
Today, at a Congressional Summit on Overturning Citizens United, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) pledged to work towards passing a constitutional amendment to expressly permit Congress the power to regulate corporate spending in federal elections. The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizen’s United v. FEC equated corporate campaign donations with free speech, over... Read more »
Today, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on “Voting Wrongs: Oversight of the Justice Department’s Voting Rights Enforcement.” The purpose of the hearing was to examine the Justice Department’s recent handling of voting rights matters, including the Department’s decision to challenge certain state’s restrictive voter identification laws. House Judiciary... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights at a hearing entitled “Ending Racial Profiling in America.” He spoke to the need for Congress to enact his legislation to end racial profiling by law enforcement and the importance of community based policing as means to ... Read more »
(DETROIT) – Today, Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement in response to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s new proposed consent agreement between the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit. Last week, Representatives Conyers, Hansen Clarke, and Gary Peters sent a letter to Governor Snyder requesting his administration to explain its position and to provide doc... Read more »
