Press Releases

ADVISORY: Conyers to Host Forum on the Impact of Budget Proposals on Justice, Job Creation, Public Safety, and Civil Liberties

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On Thursday, February 24th, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) will host a forum on the impact that the GOP’s budget proposal – and the looming government shutdown – will have on job creation, public safety, and America’s justice system. Some of the federal programs that will be critically affected by H.R. 1, the Republican continuing resolution that passed the U.... Read more »

Conyers: Too Much Surveillance Will Hinder Innovation and Cost Jobs

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Today, at the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Committee Hearing on “Going Dark: Lawful Electronic Surveillance in the Face of New Technologies,” Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) emphasized the dangers of legislating new requirements desired by law enforcement on all communications companies. Mr. Conyers criticized the possibility that the administration may propose that all communicat... Read more »

Conyers: Constitutional Text and History Proves the Validity of Health Care's Minimum Coverage Requirement

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Today, at the House Judiciary Full Committee’s Hearing on the “Constitutionality of the Individual Mandate,” Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and his Democratic colleagues stressed how the Affordable Healthcare Act’s foundations are constitutionally sound, invoking the Constitution’s plain language, past Supreme Court cases, and the establishment of federal programs, such as Medicare and... Read more »

Conyers Rejects State Bankruptcy Option as Being Unnecessary

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Today, at the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law Hearing on the Role of Public Employee Pensions in Contributing to State Insolvency, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. rejected the proposal to have states file for bankruptcy to relieve them of their contractual obligations, such as collective bargaining agreements and pension funding commit... Read more »

Conyers: Twice Over—Patriot Act Fails to Meet the Needs of the Intelligence, Law Enforcement, and Civil Liberties Communities

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Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. and Judiciary Democrats voted again not to renew expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, calling for a more open process and thorough review of the bill’s most controversial provisions. After last week’s bipartisan rejection of the bill, Republican leadership brought the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 ba... Read more »

Conyers: House GOP Budget Bill Will Cost Jobs, Safety, and Civil Liberties

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Late last night, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a budget proposal (H.R. 1) that will make immediate and drastic cuts to the Justice Department, Homeland Security Department, and other federal agencies.Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement regarding the proposal:These mindless budget cuts proposed by ... Read more »

Conyers: Republicans Waste Time Debating An Unnecessary Resolution, Failing to Address Joblessness

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Today, House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) challenged the Republican House’s decision to spend ten hours of floor time and federal tax resources debating a function Congress already performs in overseeing regulations.During today's floor debate, Republicans claimed that legislation passed by Democrats in the 111th Congress impeded job growth. However, according to findings f... Read more »

Conyers: Mandatory E-Verify Without Broader Immigration Reform Would Damage the American Economy

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Today at the House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee hearing on “E-Verify—Preserving Jobs for American Workers,” Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) argued that making E-Verify mandatory and continuing to pursue an enforcement-only approach would not fix the country’s broken immigration system and do nothing to solve the country’s problems.E-Verify, an electronic employment eligibility ver... Read more »

Judiciary Democrats: H.R. 3 is a Full-Fledged Assault on Women and Families Across the Nation

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Today, at a press conference ahead of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution hearing on H.R. 3, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” House Judiciary Democrats staunchly rejected Republicans’ characterization of the bill as a federal funding measure. In their remarks, Judiciary Democrats, led by Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Constitution Subcommittee Ranking Me... Read more »

Conyers: Patriot Act Extension is Too Flawed, Too Intrusive, and Too Over-reaching

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Today, House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) rose on the House Floor in opposition to H.R. 514 which would extend, until December 8, 2011, the three expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act. H.R. 514 is being considered today for House passage, without any hearings, markups, nor the opportunity for amendments that would have allowed for necessary bipartisan reform measures t... Read more »