John Conyers

December 11, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman, Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI) , celebrated the U.S. Sentencing Commission's decision that a new cocaine guideline that went into effect on November 1 of this year be applied retroactively. The vote was unanimous.    » read more »

December 11, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - The House Judiciary Committee will consider a substitute version of the Miller-Sánchez "Emergency Homeownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007" during a markup TOMORROW, December 12, at 10:15 a.m. in room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The substitute reflects a compromise made with Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) that will help hundreds of thousands of homeowners save their homes from foreclosure while seeking bankruptcy to reorganize their debts.    » read more »

December 07, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Reps. Robert Scott, William Delahunt and Jerrold Nadler sent letters to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Gen. Michael Hayden and Attorney General Michael Mukasey requesting details about today's reports that the CIA destroyed videotapes of interrogation activities.    » read more »

December 05, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- In an effort to strengthen laws protecting creative and intellectual property, leaders of the House Judiciary Committee today introduced bipartisan legislation to improve federal agency enforcement efforts and provide more resources to those efforts.    » read more »

December 04, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) spoke on the House floor in support of H.R. 3887, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization of 2007. Conyers was an original co-sponsor of the bill, which is expected to pass on the House floor this evening and seeks to provide new tools to combat modern day slavery. Last month, his committee held a hearing on the issue. A link to video of Conyers' floor speech is available here. The full text of his remarks is below:    » read more »

December 03, 2007 -- (Washington, D.C.) – This morning, in discussing his legislative priorities, President Bush suggested that Democratic alternatives to the Protect America Act would restrict tools for the men and women of the U.S. intelligence community and characterized Congressional unwillingness to grant amnesty to telecommunications carriers as "obstruction." House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr., (D-MI), of the House Committee on the Judiciary, released the following statement:    » read more »

November 9, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) sent a letter to newly confirmed Attorney General Michael Mukasey restating their October 4 request to receive copies of Justice Department "secret" legal opinions authorizing the use of torture on terror suspects.    » read more »

November 05, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) offered White House Counsel Fred Fielding yet another opportunity to negotiate terms and agree on compliance with the committee's subpoenas issued to Joshua Bolten, for documents, and Harriet Miers, for documents and testimony.    » read more »

October 23, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh testified that he believes the Department of Justice (DoJ) sought to prosecute a Pennsylvania Democrat for political reasons. He testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittees on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security and Commercial and Administrative Law during a hearing titled, "Allegations of Selective Prosecution: The Erosion of Public Confidence in Our Federal Justice System." Supporting documents related to all of the cases discussed at today's hearing are available here.    » read more »

October 16, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the "Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) Amendments Act of 2007," which was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI). The Act extends the moratorium on certain taxes relating to the Internet and to electronic commerce and addresses growing concerns as innovation occurs. The bill passed with a vote of 405-2. The Chairman issued the following statement in support of the bill:    » read more »

October 15, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth Wainstein requesting details and documents about potentially unlawful surveillance activities before 9-11 and allegations of retalliation against Qwest Communications for failing to participate in such activities.

Click the link below.

Letter to McConnell, Wainstein to Explain Qwest Allegations    » read more »

October 12, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Cannon (R-UT) announced plans to expand an ongoing Judiciary Committee investigation into injuries suffered by professional football players and the lack of pension and health benefits available to these former players.    » read more »

October 9, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) introduced The Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007 – the “RESTORE Act,” in an effort to address concerns about civil liberty protections in the hastily-enacted “Protect America Act” that was signed into law in early August.    » read more »

October 4, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) Expansion and Enforcement Act of 2007, despite the Bush Administration's opposition, with a vote of 389-30. The bill, which passed through the House Judiciary Committee in August, makes private contractors working in combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan subject to prosecution for wrongdoing in U.S. courts. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) made the following remarks on the House floor in support of the bill:    » read more »

September 27, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduced the "Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) Amendments Act of 2007." The Act will extend the moratorium on certain taxes relating to the Internet and to electronic commerce and to address growing concerns as innovation occurs.    » read more »