Yesterday the Department of Justice issued an updated policy statement to curb the risks of unlawful profiling by federal law enforcement agencies. Building on the 2003 guidance issued by the Bush administration, the new policy expands covered classifications to include gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity and includes activities related to national security and intelligence. In response to this announcement, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. released the following statement:
Today, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a redacted summary of its 6,000-page report on the use of torture by the Central Intelligence Agency. The report concludes that the CIA's use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques in the years following the attacks of September 11, 2001 did not effectively assist the agency in acquiring intelligence or in gaining cooperation from detainees. The report also shows that the CIA worked to undermine oversight of its Detention and Interrogation Program, actively misleading the Congress, the Department of Justice, and the White House. In reaction to the report, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr., Rep.
Dear Colleague:
Over the past two decades, tensions between police and communities of color have grown as allegations of police brutality and racial profiling by law enforcement agents have increased in number and frequency. The tragic police-involved shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the local police department's response to the protests are just the latest examples of the challenges faced in reforming police practices.
Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) sent a letter to Chief Judge Ed Carnes and Judge Gerald Tjoflat of the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit regarding the arrest and the ongoing prosecution of Middle District of Alabama Judge Mark Fuller in Atlanta, Georgia for a violation of state criminal law.
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr., released the following statement after the Senate fell two votes short of ending debate on the USA FREEDOM Act of 2014. The 58-42 vote effectively cuts off any prospect of surveillance reform in the 113th Congress. The USA FREEDOM Act would have introduced sweeping reforms to various government surveillance programs, including the bulk collection of telephone metadata at the National Security Agency.
House and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Members John Conyers, Jr. and Chuck Grassley are raising questions about a new practice by the Justice Department denying certain records to the department's Inspector General.
Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), and House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) sent a letter to Acting Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy seeking answers to over a dozen questions regarding a series of security breaches that occurred at the White House complex and during official travel.
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. released the following statement on the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder from the Department of Justice:
"Attorney General Eric Holder has delivered the utmost distinguished service during his tenure in the Obama administration. As the first African American to serve as attorney general, Mr. Holder has shown vigorous dedication to the American people and advancing civil rights for all.
Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee Markup of H.R. 4874, the "Search for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act of 2014." Section 101(K) of the bill funds a new Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission by taking $ 25 million or 1%, whichever is greater, of unobligated funding from federal agencies. Under any methodology this figure would reach into the billions. After voting against H.R. 4874, Ranking Members John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:
The House of Representatives today approved by a vote of 302-121 the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 3361), a bipartisan bill authored by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) that ends bulk collection of data by the government and reforms our nation's intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Following the announcement of the AT&T and DirecTV proposed merger, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) issued the following joint statement:
The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 32-0 the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 3361), a bipartisan bill authored by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) to reform our nation's intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including ending the bulk collection of data.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today announced that on Wednesday, May 7 at 1:00 p.m., the House Judiciary Committee will markup the USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 3361), legislation introduced by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) to reform our nation's intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) issued the joint statement below following President Obama's proposal to end the bulk telephone data collection program operated under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA) and reform other aspects of our nation's intelligence gathering programs.
Today, media outlets reported that the White House would propose legislation that would allow the NSA to obtain individual phone records only with the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. This morning, the leadership of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence introduced legislation to end bulk collection but allows the government to continue to seize phone records without individualized judicial approval. Although neither proposal goes as far as the USA FREEDOM Act - introduced by Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), John Conyers, Jr.
Today, the House of Representatives debated H.R. 4138 the, "Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe and Respect Congressional Enforcements of the Law (ENFORCE) Act." This floor debate comes on the heels of the House Judiciary Committee having held a full committee markup on the legislation and a hearing a week prior entitled, "Enforcing the president's Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws." This legislation is a faulty solution in search of imaginary problems, and has no hope of being considered in the Senate, let alone becoming law. As the Floor debate commenced, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:
Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled, "Enforcing the President's Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws." After the hearing concluded, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement:
Today, ranking member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) met with Bob Bauer, the co-chair of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. This meeting comes on the heels of a report that the commission issued last month detailing how to address the many issues that plagued the 2012 presidential election specifically and the American electoral system generally. After the meeting, Ranking Member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:
Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled "Examining Recommendations to Reform Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Authorities." During his opening remarks, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement:
Tomorrow morning, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is holding a full committee hearing entitled "Examining Recommendations to Reform Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Authorities." In anticipation of the hearing, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:
(DETROIT) – Today, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) released a report criticizing and calling for an end to the National Security Agency's (NSA) sweeping telephone metadata collection program. The PCLOB cited the program, currently permitted under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, as having "little unique value" in investigating and preventing terrorism. This comes on the heels of President Obama's speech at the Department of Justice last Friday calling for congressional action to curb excesses in the United State's surveillance programs. After the report was released, Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Robert C.