Today, Attorney General Eric Holder testified at a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Department of Justice. Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement following the hearing: “I applaud Attorney General Holder and the Department of Justice for its aggressive enforcement of voting and civil rights laws,” said Conyers. “Conservatives on this committee have cha... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) hosted Dr. Olivia Hooker, a survivor of the Tulsa-Greenwood Race Riot of 1921 and a notable professor and the first African American woman to enlist in the United States Coast Guard. Dr. Hooker, along with Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree met with members of Congress to reflect on the 91st anniversary of the riot, and to ... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) opposed H.R. 3541, the “Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2012.” Formerly known as the “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act,” the bill jeopardizes women’s access to safe, legal medical care and undermines the constitutional right to privacy guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. “This legislation doe... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) introduced the “Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2012,” which would level the playing field between health care professionals and insurance companies in the health care industry and improve the quality of patient care. The Act would eliminate the antitrust immunity provided under the McCarran-Ferguson... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) joined Representative John Lewis (D-Ga.), House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), Democratic Assistant Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and House Committee on Administration Ranking Member Robert Brady (D-Pa.), in introducing the Voter Empowerment Act. Over the past year, states across the country have enacted restrict... Read more »
Today, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Implementation of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, a patent reform bill that President Obama signed into law in September 2011. The Honorable David Kappos, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) testified before the Committee. Ranking Member John Conyer... Read more »
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement following the vote on H.R. 4970, a Republican-authored Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization bill that weakens current laws protecting immigrant crime victims and excludes protections for vulnerable Native American women and LGBT persons contained in a bipartisan bill passed by the Senate. “Tod... Read more »
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 »
