CONYERS: House Democrats to Trump Administration: Florida Nursing Home Tragedy Is a Wake-Up Call to Protect the Fundamental Rights of Residents Against Abuse

WASHINGTON – In the wake of disturbing reports of the neglect of nursing home residents in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, 46 members of Congress called on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma to maintain current protections for elder Americans against abuse in nursing homes.

In Florida, 12 residents died and more than 100 were hospitalized after a long-term care facility failed to evacuate residents after losing air conditioning in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. In Texas, similar abuse occurred at a facility that refused to evacuate despite severe flooding. The letter is led by Representatives David N. Cicilline (RI-01), John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01).

They wrote: “The horrific reports of abuse at facilities in Florida and Texas in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey underscore the need for your agency to reconsider upending the legal protections of those who have worked and saved for their entire lives to retire with dignity. This is a time when we should be protecting our nation’s seniors, not rolling back their fundamental right to hold wrongdoers accountable for neglect and abuse.”

Last year under the Obama Administration, CMS finalized a strong rule that prohibited the use of pre-dispute, mandatory (“forced”) arbitration clauses in nursing home admission agreements.

Nursing-home residents stand to lose virtually every cause of action against unscrupulous caregivers unless these current protections against forced arbitration in nursing-home admission contracts are preserved.

As the letter notes, following an extensive notice-and-comment rulemaking process, CMS determined that forced arbitration undermines the ability of health investigators to prevent and remedy abuse in nursing homes.

But under the Trump Administration, CMS has already begun the process to end this protection.

The letter follows a letter from House Democrats—including Representatives Johnson, Cicilline, Conyers, Nadler, and Sanchez—in 2015 that called on CMS to adopt these protections.

The group of House Democrats denounced plans by CMS Administrator Verma to roll back existing protections, writing “Americans in nursing homes deserve better. It is vital that residents and their families are able to enforce their rights and hold nursing home operators accountable for dangerous facility conditions and the inhumane treatment of residents. We strongly urge CMS to protect the health and safety of nursing home residents, particularly in light of recent events, by maintaining the current prohibition of forced arbitration clauses in nursing home admission contracts.”

Congressional Letter To CMS On Nursing Home Protections 10032017 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers Applauds Federal Court Decision Blocking Onerous Texas Voter ID Law

(DETROIT)—Last week, a three judge District Court in D.C. blocked onerous legislation requiring an individual to show a photo identification before casting a ballot in an election. The court found the law to be discriminatory, and would effectively limit the right to vote of minorities and poor voters. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement following the court’s decision:     

“I applaud the decision by the District Court in D.C. to block the reprehensible voter ID law,” said Conyers. “The court was correct in recognizing the discriminatory impact that voter ID requirements have on  minority voters, amounting to voter suppression.

“I also commend the Department of Justice’s enforcement of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.  The vigorous enforcement of this important piece of legislation protects groups who have historically experienced discrimination by states. Given the three recent decisions that the D.C. Court has issued rejecting voting changes across the country, it is now up to Congress to turn back any coordinated efforts designed to limit the historical trend of expanding voting rights.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers, Jackson Lee: Supreme Court Should Protect Minority Voting Rights in Texas Redistricting Case

**Follow Me On Twitter @HouseJudDems**

For Immediate Release
Date: Monday, January 9, 2012
Contact: Matthew Morgan – 202-226-5543

Conyers, Jackson Lee: Supreme Court Should Protect Minority Voting Rights in Texas Redistricting Case

(WASHINGTON) – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a consolidated case involving recent changes to Texas’ congressional district map.  According to the 2010 census, Texas gained more than 4 million new residents with much of the growth occurring in the state’s African American and Latino population.  Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), Texas must seek preclearance from the Department of Justice for changes to its congressional district map to ensure against retrogression – that minority voters are not worse off under the new plans.  However, rather than seeking an administrative review through DOJ, Texas chose to seek approval for the new plans through a Three-Judge Court in Washington, DC.

In a separate action under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a Three-Judge Court in Texas found that the new congressional map proposed by the Texas legislature actually reduced the number of “minority opportunity districts” – districts in which minorities constitute at least 50% of the voting age population and may elect a candidate of their choice – as required under the VRA.  The ultimate issue before the Court is what districting configuration the lower court should have referred to when ordering the interim electoral map to be used in this round of legislative elections in Texas this year.

“The Supreme Court should act to ensure that minority voters there have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice,” said House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich).  “The lower court found evidence of discriminatory intent and that the maps proposed by the legislature appear to deny minority voters the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.  The Court should not stand in the way of legal proceedings that will bring these facts into the open or delay the rights of minority voters.” 

"Texas is a richly diverse state, and the new congressional map should reflect the large influence of Texans of Hispanic, African-American, and Asian descent, not weaken their voices,” said Representative Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas).  “Our state's gains in congressional seats are the direct result of minority growth, and the new congressional map should reflect this reality."
###
Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©