John Conyers

I think that your philosophy and experience combine to give you a very good platform for advocating.

Drug offenses alone account for two-thirds of the rise in the Federal inmate population and more than half the rise in State prisoners between 1985 and 2000.

I consider this a very important hearing in view of the 41 attempts by the conservative Members of the House to repeal it ultimately unsuccessfully.

This legislation should enjoy broad bipartisan support based on the fact that the House passed a similar bill during the 111th Congress with more than 400 votes.

That is why I introduced H.R. 99, the 'Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2013,' on the very first day of the 113th Congress.

My principal objective is to ensure that consumers will be the primary beneficiaries of these reforms through lower prices and better health insurance coverage.

The Affordable Care Act makes critical reforms to our Nation's health care system and will help millions of uninsured Americans to gain access to affordable health insurance.

Although these voluntary agreements have been a positive step, we must continue to develop solutions to address digital piracy.

Voluntary agreements, intellectual property law, should facilitate technological advances, while at the same time, protecting creators.

We must enact policies that protect consumers and safeguard competition.

We must protect copyright owners because it is their property that forms the basis of the entire scheme.

One thing that concerns me is that sometimes we manage to keep the DREAMers in and there seems to be a growing tendency in that direction in the Congress.

No one should be at risk of prosecution, conviction and imprisonment for engaging in actions that are not inherently blameworthy unless he or she knew that the act involved was illegal.

The omission of mens rea essentially sets citizens up to be ambushed.

Unfortunately, Congress has increasingly strayed from this basic principle as evidenced by the fact that federal criminal law is no longer limited to crimes that are readily recognizable.

The lack of mens rea standard presents a real risk that truly innocent individuals may be wrongly convicted and punished.

A fundamental principle of our criminal justice system is that an individual should not be subjected to prosecution and conviction unless he or she intentionally engages in wrongful conduct or conduct that they knew was unlawful.

In fact, without an articulated mens rea standard, it may not even be clear that a crime has even been committed.

A fundamental principle of our criminal justice system is that an individual should not be subjected to prosecution and conviction unless he or she intentionally engages in wrongful conduct or conduct that they knew was unlawful.

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the State of Michigan, and Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary.

Fortunately, Congress can solve these problems by updating the Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Chairman? If I could, before we move on here, I just noticed that Congressman John Lewis was in the room

It is therefore my hope that immediately after this hearing and over the recess we can begin the process of informal discussions with each other in order to protect our citizens' voting rights.

We must use this opportunity to promptly craft a legislative solution that enables the Justice Department to effectively enforce the rights of minority voters.

I and many of my colleagues, most legal commentators were deeply disappointed by the Court's 5-4 decision in Shelby County v. Holder.