John Conyers: “we all know by now that this is an historic moment--Congress has not reauthorized the Department of Justice in over 20…”

“we all know by now that this is an historic moment--Congress has not reauthorized the Department of Justice in over 20 years; instead, we have left the responsibility to the appropriators to decide which Department programs should be authorized and their maximum funding level. This conference report, arrived at after months of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations, expresses the views of the authorizing committees about how these programs should operate. I'd like to thank Conference and Senate Judiciary Chairman Leah, House Judiciary Chairman Sensenbrenner, and Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Hatch for working with us on this legislation. Aside from the authorizing language and technical corrections to the antitrust, criminal, and intellectual property laws, important compromises were reached between the House and Senate on other non-controversial provisions so they could be included in this report. Included are: A provisions supported by Representative Mary Bono and myself to ensure that parties to motor vehicle franchise contracts cannot be subject to mandatory arbitration without their consent; A provision supported by Representative Tammy Baldwin, Representative Louise Slaughter, and myself to establish an independent Violence Against Women Office within the Department of Justice. This provision raises the profile of the Office by having its Director report directly to the Attorney General instead of through other subordinates.”