Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1021, the “Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act of 2011.” The bill extends by 5 years the authorizations for 30 temporary bankruptcy judgeships in 20 judicial districts around the country. Included in the bill is an amendment authored by Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) which provided for the extension of many additional temporary... Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives began consideration of a series of bills aimed at disrupting the regulatory process that is responsible for protecting the health and safety of millions of Americans. H.R. 527, the Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act, H.R. 3010, the Regulatory Accountability Act, and H.R. 10, the REINS Act all will undermine a host of regulatory protections. These protection... Read more »
Today, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on “Constitutional Limitations on States’ Authority to Collect Sales Taxes.” In the 1992 Quill Decision, the Supreme Court struck down a North Dakota law that required an out-of-state business to remit sales taxes on in-state customers because the business in question did not have a substantial enough presence in the state. However in the opinio... Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives rejected H.J. Res. 2, a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, when the measure failed to garner the two-thirds majority vote necessary for adoption. The amendment did not include any explicit guarantees to protect Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security; would have required federal government outlays not to exceed receipts; and would have required a two... Read more »
Today the House Judiciary Committee, without holding a single legislative hearing, began consideration of H.R. 3256, the “Deport Convicted Foreign Criminals Act of 2011.” Under the bill, for every 90 day period a country does not repatriate an individual scheduled for deportation by the U.S. government, the State Department must automatically retaliate by denying visas to individuals from that co... Read more »
Today at a markup held by the House Judiciary Committee, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) opposed the passage of H.R. 1996, the “Government Litigation Savings Act.” The bill prohibits groups and individuals seeking to protect important rights and interests threatened by unreasonable government action from recovering attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). The EAJA a... Read more »
Today, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) opposed the passage of H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.” The bill overrides the laws of almost every state by requiring each to accept concealed handgun carry permits from every other state, even if the permit holder would not be allowed to obtain such a permit or carry a gun in the state in which he or she is travel... Read more »
Today, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on H.R. 3261, the “Stop Online Piracy Act.” The bill protects American jobs by modernizing criminal and civil statutes to meet new intellectual property enforcement challenges presented by the proliferation of websites dedicated to intellectual property theft and fraud. Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) made the following statement after... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement regarding the Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008, which the House Judiciary Committee reported to the House at the end of the 110th Congress: "The House Judiciary Committee reported out the Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008 on October 3, 2008 – effectively the last working day of the 110th Co... Read more »
Today, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on “21st Century Law Enforcement: How Smart Policing Targets Criminal Behavior.” The hearing focused on racial profiling and its supposed effectiveness as a legitimate law enforcement tactic. The subcommittee heard testimony from the following witnesses: Mr. Hilary O. Shelton, Director, NAACP Washingt... Read more »
