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

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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.”

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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.”

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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.

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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.”

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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.”

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On Tax Day, Conyers Calls for a Fairer Tax Code

(WASHINGTON) – On Tax Day, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement calling on Congress to take steps to reform the U.S. tax code in a fair and equitable manner:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“Tax Day is a reminds us that, for far too long, the tax code has unfairly benefited the wealthiest in our country at the expense of working and middle class families,” said Conyers.

“Last year, I authored a white paper with my colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus that outlines a vision of progressive comprehensive tax reform. A progressive tax code should invest in the economic future of the United States, promote responsible corporate behavior, limit outsourcing, improve progressivity, include fair rates for the wealthiest taxpayers, reexamine expenditures that benefit the wealthy, and protect benefits that help working families, the poor, and seniors.

“President Obama and Congressional Democrats have consistently sought to ensure fairness in our tax code through reforms that close tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthiest Americans.  I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress in the coming year to pursue tax reforms that reflect our nation’s commitment to fairness and shared economic opportunity. A fairer tax code could include a tax on speculative financial transactions, new tax brackets for the super-wealthy, a carbon tax, and closing the carried interest loophole.”

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The Congressional Progressive Caucus’s Progressive Principles for Tax Reform can be found online here.

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Conyers Marks Equal Pay Day

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

Urges Passage of Equal Pay for Women through the Paycheck Fairness Act

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Members of Congress are participating in Equal Pay Day, highlighting the disparity of women earning only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2013. April 9^th is the symbolic date on which a woman’s wages catch up to what a man would earn in a previous year, in a comparable field of employment. In acknowledging Equal Pay Day, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement:

“Today I join my colleagues in Congress in marking Equal Pay Day, a day that symbolizes when the average woman will have worked an additional amount in 2013 to make up for the difference between her salary and the salary of her male colleagues in 2012,” said Conyers.

“Today stands as a reminder that, despite the many advances working women have made in our country, significant barriers to equality in the workplace continue to endure. April 9^th is the 99^th day of the year, symbolizing how women all across our country must devote 99 extra days a year to work if they want to be treated as equals. Our mothers must spend 99 extra days away from their children to be treated equal to our fathers, and our daughters must spend 99 extra days to catch up to our sons. In addition, according to a new report from the American Association of University Women, the women in the 13^th Congressional District of Michigan earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, mirroring the national average.

“These figures are simply unacceptable. For this reason, I urge my colleagues to sign on to H.R. 377, the ‘Paycheck Fairness Act,’ legislation that provides American women with real guarantees of equal pay for equal work, by strengthening and closing loopholes in the nearly 50 year old Equal Pay Act.

“Now more than ever, many middle-class families depend upon female earners to put food on the table and roofs over children's heads. It is time to provide women in this country with the legal protections they need to finally end the discrimination that they see in their paychecks, and finally guarantee the rights that women have had in name only.”

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