On Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans’ Security and Privacy.” The House Judiciary Committee previously held member briefings on encryption, which included a briefing from technology companies and a classified briefing from the government. As encryption has increasingly become much more widespr... Read more »
“Today’s hearing is the 29th anti-regulatory hearing that the Committee has held over the past 5 years. Yet, during those same 5 years, the Committee has not conducted a single hearing on – The devastating impact that overwhelming student loan debt has on families and our Nation’s economy; or How to strengthen protections for employees and retirees of companies and municipalities that seek bankrup... Read more »
Yesterday, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) and House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-TN) issued a letter to U.S. A... Read more »
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) released the following statement after the White House unveiled its roadmap for closing the U.S. military prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: “It is long past time to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The prison undermines our national security. It costs hundreds of millions of dollars to operate. It remains a bli... Read more »
Earlier this week, through a court order, the United States government demanded that Apple Inc. help the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) develop software in an effort to break the encryption on an iPhone that was recovered after the recent shootings in San Bernardino, California. The government cited the “All Writs Act,” enacted in 1789, to demand that the technology company create a new ver... Read more »
Today, all sixteen Democratic Members of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary issued a letter to Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) requesting a hearing to examine the role of Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) in financially distressed cities in Michigan. In the letter, the Members request that the Committee “conduct hearings concerning the operation of the Michigan Emergency Manager Law and its ... Read more »
“I commend the Chairman for bringing H.R. 759 before the Committee today. It is critical, as part of the Committee’s efforts to reform our criminal justice system, that we take action to improve our federal prisons, and I am pleased that today we will consider a bipartisan, substitute amendment to this bill which will establish a better way of operating our prisons. “The massive growth of our pris... Read more »
“Debates about the proper scope of executive power and its relationship to legislative authority are as old as the Nation itself. “As the Committee charged with examining issues arising under our Constitution, it is important that we regularly discuss such fundamental matters about our Nation’s basic governing framework. “Today’s resolution, which would establish an ‘Executive Overreach Task Force... Read more »
“Mr. Chair – I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1927, the ‘Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claims Transparency Act of 2015.’ “I oppose this legislation because it shields corporate wrongdoers by making it more difficult for those who have been harmed by their actions from obtaining justice and allows these wrongdoers to further victimize their victims. “Among H.R. 1927... Read more »
