Yesterday, the Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on “H.J. Res. 110, an Amendment to the Constitution Concerning Parental Rights and Education.” In numerous cases, the Supreme Court has long recognized the relationship between parent and child as a fundamental right. H.J. Res. 110 would not provide any additional protections or recognition not already afforded to this important bond b... 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, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement in advance of the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, which falls on tomorrow January 21. The Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case wiped out a century of legal precedent, granting corporations the same free ... Read more »
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 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, 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 a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Previously, the Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on H. J. Res 1, a balanced budget amendment, which the Full Committee subsequently reported. During the hearing, the majority’s witnesses, including former U.S.attorney general and Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh, ... Read more »
Today, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) said that the Democratic Staff of the House Judiciary Committee will review allegations that News Corporation (“News Corp.”) has engaged in serious and systemic invasions of privacy. News Corp. is a United States media corporation with international operations.“With every day, the allegations against News Corp. grow more extensive and more disturbi... Read more »
