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.
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, Representative Conyers opposed DOMA in 1996.
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 prosecute their abusers. It also omits language to ensure lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered persons do not face discrimination when seeking services from VAWA funded programs. This language is already included in a bipartisan bill passed by a supermajority in the Senate.
Today, the Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on H.R. 1996, the "Government Litigation Savings Act". The bill would prevent our veterans and elderly from recovering their legal fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which for 30 years has helped to ensure that senior citizens, veterans, environmental groups, and other non-profit organizations can vindicate their rights against unreasonable governmental action. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement in response to the hearing:
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Congressman Hansen Clarke (D-Mich.) called for the federal government to take the necessary steps to counter anti-Muslim sentiment.
(Detroit)-Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement regarding allegations charging the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) with improper and inappropriate interrogations singling out American-Islamic citizens.
"The allegations of religious profiling raised by Michigan's Council on American-Islamic Relations in Detroit yesterday should be of concern to all Americans," said Conyers. "CAIR has alleged that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have engaged in a pattern of invasive body searches and interrogations concerning the religious beliefs of American-Islamic citizens while returning home from Canada."