Conyers Announces $360k Grant Award to Alternatives For Girls Programs

(WASHINGTON) – This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $360,000 to Alternatives For Girls, a nonprofit based in Detroit that helps the homeless as well as high-risk girls and young women. The grant funding is provided by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families - Family and Youth Services Bureau. Half of the awarded funds, will be directed to the Transitional Living and Maternity Group Home Program, while the other half of the grant funding is appropriated to the Maternity Group Home for Young Women in Detroit, Michigan. Following the announcement, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued this statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“Today I am pleased to announce that the Administration on Children, Youth and Families - Family and Youth Services Bureau has awarded the Detroit-based nonprofit Alternatives For Girls more than $360,000 in grant funding. The Transitional Living and Maternity Group Home Program will receive $180,000 of this funding, and an additional $180,000 will go to the Maternity Group Home for Young Women,” said Conyers.

“Alternatives For Girls is an incredible nonprofit that focuses on helping homeless women and high risk girls and young women in the Detroit community. By providing shelter, and a corresponding network of support for its members to transition to independent living, Alternatives For Girls helps women who are struggling with abuse, homelessness, and drug use.

“I commend HHS for recognizing the exceptional, critical work of Alternatives For Girls, and I thank Alternatives For Girls for their selfless work to improve the lives of our neighbors in need.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Rep. John Conyers, Jr. Presents: The Paycheck Reduction Act...In Song

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers Co-Sponsors Legislation Boosting Mental Health Access to Veterans

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) co-sponsored the bipartisan “Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act,” introduced by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa). Currently, veterans face a five-year window in which they must seek treatment for mental illnesses before losing their higher priority status.  This legislation would eliminate that five-year waiting period and allow veterans to seek treatment for mental illnesses stemming from service, regardless of when their conditions arise. Following his co-sponsorship of the bill, Rep. Conyers issued this statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“It is an appalling figure, yet unfortunately 22 veterans commit suicide every single day. Sixty years after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established, it is time for Congress to renew its commitment to providing the men and women who served our nation - from Detroit and all across the country - with the healthcare services they earned," said Conyers.

“Currently the VA provides healthcare treatment and services to veterans who suffer from service-related mental or physical disabilities. Typically, the diagnosis of physical injuries is made before or shortly after separation from the military. However, mental illnesses may not arise until years later. In addition, some serious mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder were virtually undiagnosed in veterans of conflicts prior to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“As the United States armed forces and the VA continue to improve treatment for those who served, there remains a gap for veterans struggling with mental illnesses. Fortunately, the ‘Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act’ will go a long way towards ensuring that the services and treatments relating to mental health that are available to recently discharged veterans are also made available to all who served.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers Issues Application Reminder for COPS Hiring Program

(WASHINGTON) – Today, the application period for the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program (CHP) opens for interested participants. CHP is a grant program within the Department of Justice that offers funding to state and local law enforcement agencies to hire additional officers to bolster community policing measures. The deadline for participating in CHP’s competitive grant program is 7:59 PM EDT on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Following the application announcement, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued this statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“As the grant application window re-opens for the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program (CHP), I strongly encourage all interested local law enforcement agencies to apply for funding before the May 22^nd deadline,” said Conyers.

“Since the program was established in 1994, CHP has been a tremendous boon to the Detroit metropolitan area and surrounding suburbs. Through CHP’s competitive grant program, local law enforcement agencies have been able to hire new full-time officers and re-hire officers who had been laid off due to city-wide budget cuts. In addition, the hiring process affords priority consideration to veterans and school resource officers.

“While CHP grant funding is limited, this program has nonetheless played a critical role in reducing both crime and unemployment in our community. For these reasons, I hope that local law enforcement agencies will take advantage of this opportunity before the grant application window closes next month.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers Applauds National Endowment for the Arts Grant Recipients

Grant Recipients Include Allied Media Projects, InsideOut Literary Arts Projects, Inc., and the University of Detroit Mercy

(DETROIT) – Today, the National Endowment for the Arts announced its second round of grants for 2013. Three of the grants will go to projects in Michigan’s 13^th congressional district. The grants awarded in this funding cycle total over $26 million and will go to over 800 organizations in 46 states. Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:

U.S. Congressman
John Conyers, Jr.

“The grants awarded today total over $100,000 and will go to support programs for multimedia performance, literacy, and cultural activities in the city.

“These grants will help support projects in the district that involve the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work.

“I am proud that creativity is continuing to be encouraged despite the drastic cuts to arts funding that we are seeing around the country.

“I encourage more of my constituents to seek funding for their art programs through the National Endowment for the Arts.”

The programs that received grants are Allied Media Projects, InsideOut Literary Arts Project, Inc. and the University of Detroit Mercy. Constituents in search of guidelines or information about upcoming grants should visit www.arts.gov.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers to Speaker Boehner: Appoint Budget Conferees Today

(WASHINGTON) – Following passage of budgets in both the House and Senate, Congress was obligated by law to pass a reconciled final budget by April 15th of this year. For the House and Senate budgets to be reconciled, the Speaker of the House must appoint budget conferees to negotiate. Marking a week ago today that the budget deadline passed, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued this statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“It is now exactly a week past the legal deadline for Congress to have submitted a final budget to the President. This is entirely unacceptable. Rather than have Congress abdicate its duty, I urge Speaker Boehner to appoint budget conferees today to finish the budgeting process,” said Conyers.

“As Congress and the Obama administration work to strengthen the economy, it is essential that we have a budgetary framework that guides our investments and informs our values. A fair, forward-thinking budget will go a long way towards creating good-paying jobs as well as shoring up the middle class.

“The House and Senate have already acted, and with the so-called budgetary ‘sequester’ beginning to take a serious toll on the economic well-being of the country, it is time to produce a final budget. Only by appointing budget conferees can Speaker Boehner allow Congress to get back to the people’s work.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers Votes Against Cybersecurity Bill; Says Congress Must Not Forsake Privacy Protections

(WASHINGTON) – Today, the House of Representatives voted 288 to 127 to pass H.R. 624, the “Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act” (CISPA). This legislation overrides current privacy laws to permit private companies to share information with the federal government if there is a suspected cyber threat, but does not require the companies to remove unrelated private information of customers from what they turn over. Under the bill, companies would also enjoy broad liability protection.  Following passage of the bill, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued this statement:

U.S. Congressman
John Conyers, Jr.

“While it is essential that Congress address our nation’s glaring cybersecurity deficiencies, I am disappointed that the House of Representatives passed CISPA, over the veto threat of President Obama, without critical privacy safeguards,” said Conyers.

“In its current form, CISPA would allow the federal government to potentially have access to a private citizen’s email, medical records, and other personal information. Unfortunately, the House did not approve amendments to require companies to use reasonable efforts to remove unrelated private information from what they turn over to the government.” 

“In addition, CISPA contains provisions that limit private companies from liability. If a company makes a poor cybersecurity decision based on information it obtains that harms public, the company would not be held responsible for their actions.

“Our nation faces very real cyber threats, but this bill is not the right way to address them.  Effective cybersecurity legislation must protect our privacy and encourage better cybersecurity practices, but this bill fails to do both.   We must address these shortcomings before a bill reaches the President’s desk.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©