The Funeral of John Conyers

Public viewing held today for former Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

Bill & John Campaigning in Detroit 2016

Posted: 9:56 AM, Nov 02, 2019 Updated: 11:18 PM, Nov 02, 2019

DETROIT (WXYZ) — One of two public viewings was held today for former Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

Both viewings will be held at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The first is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the second Sunday, Nov. 3 from noon to 5 p.m.

Funeral arrangements announced for former Congressman John Conyers Jr.
Conyers's funeral service will be held Monday, Nov. 4 at Greater Grace Temple on 3500 W. Seven Mile Road in Detroit.

The service will take place at 11 a.m., with a preceding family hour beginning at 10 a.m.
https://www.wxyz.com/news/public-viewing-today-for-former-congressman-john-conyers-jr

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CONYERS Portrait In The U.S. House Judiciary Committee 2017

The portrait was placed, stage left, on the wall of the U.S. House of Representative Judiciary Committee.

Watch the unveiling ceremony here.

C-SPAN has locked the video on embedding, obstructing use in the public record.

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John Conyers, Sr. - Forefather of the UAW - Detroit & GM

I remember when he told me of how his father was beaten and bloodied trying to form the union by GM in Detroit.

Since this his legacy has been omitted from the history books, I believe we shall have a few fun projects coming up.

John Conyers, Sr.

Published: January 4, 1986

John Conyers, Sr.
Forefather of the UAW

DETROIT, Jan. 3— John Conyers Sr., a retired union official who was the father of Representative John Conyers Jr., Democrat of Michigan, died Wednesday at his Detroit home. He was 80 years old. Mr. Conyers had been an international representative for the United Automobile Workers.

In addition to his son John, Mr. Conyers is survived by his wife, Lucille, and another son, Nathan.

Black history, labor history intertwined in Detroit

March 1, 2010 11:58 AM CDT  BY JOHN RUMMEL

DETROIT – Between the two World Wars, the groundwork was laid in this city’s Black community that culminated in the 1941 organizing of the world’s most powerful corporation: the Ford Motor Company.

That piece of  Detroit’s rich labor and civil rights history was brought to life by professors Beth Bates and Quill Pettway in a Department of Africana Studies Black History Month celebration at Wayne State University here.

Bates’ research has focused on political, social, and economic developments within the 20th century African American community. Pettway is both a student and maker of history. He was helped organize the huge Ford Rouge plant and continued working there for 27 years before becoming a professor. Now almost 90, he continues to teach math at Wayne County Community College.

The two traced the origins of Detroit’s Black population. Escaping what for many was life as a Southern sharecropper, Black migration north took place at record levels in the early part of the last century. From 1916 to1917, Black migration to Detroit averaged 1,000 a month. “Simply put, they came looking for a better life, better education, security and to escape lynching” said Pettway.

By the early 1920s, 45 percent of Black men in Detroit worked at Ford.

Bates said those jobs at Ford gave hope to Blacks, but Henry Ford “extracted more than his pound of flesh in speed-ups.”  She quoted the late autoworker Dave Moore who said “there was nothing liberal in the bastard – Ford’s strategy was simply different than GM or Chrysler,” where cleaning rest rooms and mopping floors was the best Blacks could expect.

Interwoven in Ford’s strategy was a paternalistic philosophy. Bates said Ford imagined Blacks might be “the perfect workers for his open shop movement, what he called his American Plan.” However, Bates said, Blacks also had their own American Plan, one that grew more incompatible with Henry Ford as time went by. Contrary to what many scholars have written, it was Black workers who paved the way for unionization at Ford, she said.

Throughout the 1930s the old AFL autoworkers union missed opportunities to support the Black community in their fight for civil rights and against police brutality, and did not work to develop a broader-based union organizing drive.  “Black workers not initially signing union cards had less to do with allegiance to Ford than wanting to be treated as equals” by the union, said Bates.

She credited the role played by the Communist Party and other radicals in organizations like the unemployed councils and the International Labor Defense (which led the fight to save the Scottsboro Boys) because they facilitated a “cross-fertilization” and politicalization within the Black community, between workers at Ford and community members, on issues like racism, civil rights and jobs.

“By 1935, Black Detroiters considered Communists friends you could count on,” said Bates.

Unlike the old AFL union, the CIO’s United Auto Workers had a policy of racial equality that gave it an advantage, Pettway said.

He noted the role played by white Ford worker and lead union organizer Bill McKie. McKie’s job in Ford’s maintenance department allowed him to circulate amongst different workers. The fact that McKie was a known Communist did not hurt his ability to organize.  He was “second to none, highly respected by everyone. Elected as a trustee his first year,” said Pettway.

The CIO saw to it that a broad base of union support was built within the Black community and on three occasion organized rallies with Paul Robeson.

Pettway said the last rally, in Detroit’s downtown Cadillac Square, drew 60,000 people. “Regardless of race, creed or color, they came to hear Robeson, Walter Reuther, former City Council President Erma Henderson,” among others.

On May 21, 1941, Ford workers overwhelmingly voted for the union.

The vote shook the automotive industry and shaped it for decades to come.

During discussion, retired UAW activist General Baker pointed to the “high level of solidarity” still seen within UAW Ford Local 600. At its peak there were 17,000 Black workers and even today, most top UAW national leaders come out of Local 600 he said.

Pettway said “the unity needed to organize Ford was the same unity that elected Barack Obama.  This is what is necessary to move forward.”

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Judiciary: Hearing on the History and Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

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Obama & Holder: The National Democratic Redistricting Committee

 The National Democratic Redistricting Committee

Former President Barack Obama highlights the damaging effects of partisan and racial gerrymandering on our democracy and calls on Americans to get engaged in the 2018 mid-term elections as it is a critical year for redistricting and restoring fairness back to elections. 

 The National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) is the centralized hub for executing a comprehensive redistricting strategy that shifts the redistricting power, creating fair districts where Democrats can compete. To learn more about what you can do to fight for fair maps alongside the NDRC, visit www.democraticredistricting.com.

(Those example districts were the 13th & 14th Congressional Districts of Michigan.)

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CONYERS: Michigan Needs A New State Police Director

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) issued the following statement after Michigan State Police Director Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue posted an uninformed statement on Facebook concerning National Football League (NFL) protests against racial injustice:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“I have been defending the ideal symbolized by the American flag for my entire adult life. Here in the U.S. Congress since 1965; before that as a state official; and before that as an officer in the United States Army serving in the Korean Conflict.  When I went off to war, the country I fought for was far from realized: in Korea I was an officer and a gentleman; at home I was a second-class citizen.  But still I fought, because our country is about so much more than a flag or an anthem.  It is about a great struggle, centuries in the making, to make a more perfect union. 

“Michigan State Police Director Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue is entitled to her wrong-headed, spiteful opinion. However, her comments in regards to NFL players protesting racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem were completely inappropriate, unbefitting an officer of the state of Michigan, and raise practical concerns about her ability to enforce the laws of our state and country.

“Michigan needs a Michigan State Police Director who understands the very real issue of racial injustice and the blatant disparities that African-Americans face within our criminal justice system and at the hands of some ill-willed law enforcement officers. Instead of bashing the protests, Etue should be looking to address the reason for the protests in the first place, by working with the Michigan police force and the communities they protect and serve to improve relations.  If Etue cannot complete that mission, she should stand down.

“I strongly believe that no one should ever make the mistake that the fight for justice in America is anything less than an act of patriotism.  As a veteran, I served alongside soldiers who fought for this country’s freedom. It is time for us to honor these struggles and commit to working toward a society that so many have sacrificed for.”

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CONYERS on Detroit in 1967: 'I Couldn't Stop It'

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Any movie based on a true story will take certain liberties, and Kathryn Bigelow's examination of the events of the 1967 riot in Detroit—Detroit, out Friday—acknowledges that some of the precise details of those events aren't even certain to those who deal strictly in nonfiction. But at least one moment in the film, its subject says, is "a fair representation of what I did and said."

That subject is Rep. John Conyers Jr., who represented Detroit in the House of Representatives in 1967 and still does today, as the most senior member in that legislative body and the first African-American representative to hold that honor.

And the moment in question is one of which TIME likewise took note, in its cover story about the events:

When the riot was only a few hours old, John Conyers, one of Detroit 's two Negro Congressmen, drove up Twelfth Street with Hubert Locke and Deputy School Superintendent Arthur Johnson. "Stay cool, we're with you!" Conyers shouted to the crowd. "Uncle Tom!" they shouted back. Someone heaved a bottle and the leaders beat a prompt retreat, not wanting to become "handkerchief heads" in the bandaged sense of the epithet. "You try to talk to these people," said Conyers unhappily, "and they'll knock you into the middle of next year."

Looking back on that time from the vantage point of today, Conyers says, it can be hard to grasp what Detroit was like, the way that "segregation was a fact of life" and how much more tense things were than they are even today. And, as a result, despite the difficulty he experienced talking the crowd that day, he takes an empathetic view of those who shouted him down.

"This was a moment where rage and rebellion and anger and opposition to the mistreatment of people because of their race all erupted in one of those unusual and important moments. It couldn’t be stopped. I couldn’t stop it at all," he tells TIME. "[Calming down] was an important step but I think it was a step that we couldn’t accomplish because of the explosion of emotions and the pent-up feelings of being less than first-class citizens. It’s hard to imagine how much separation of people there was in and around Detroit because of a person’s racial background."

Though he says he didn't know all of the people in the crowd personally, he was familiar with many of them and they with him. He was also intimately familiar—as he would tell reporters in the immediate wake of the riot—with the frustration and impatience that lay underneath the tensions in the city. The spirit of "we're not going to take it any longer" took over, he says, and the inequality that was no longer supportable could be traced not just to Detroit's recent history but all the way back to slavery. The relationship between the city's African-American population and its law enforcement was a key point for the expression of that history, and he says that the police played "a large role" in creating a situation in which those constituents could no longer be persuaded that violence was not the only recourse left.

"There were very few African-Americans on the police force of Detroit and it was certainly way [before] the time when we would have an African-American chief of police in the city of Detroit, and the police were more than impolite," he says. "They were rough. They ordered people around. They had what they called a 'Big Four' cruiser, in which police drove around, usually threatening young people who were just hanging out on the corners or on the streets with not too much to do. They weren’t a menace but they were the ones who were available. The absence of sensitized police relations played a huge role in fomenting this pent-up resentment against law enforcement."

Though he couldn't stop the riots, Conyers recalls that his first priority was telling people to stay off the streets for their own safety, as the longer the disturbance went on the more people would be hurt or killed. (The death toll by the end of the five-day riot would be 43.) He also recalls receiving a phone call from President Lyndon Johnson, who wanted to know whether the reports he was receiving were accurate. Conyers told him that yes, he was in Detroit and he could promise that the news that was reaching Johnson really did reflect how bad the situation was on the ground.

"The sound of tanks, United States Army tanks, going down, say, Dexter Avenue in Northwest Detroit, just made a horrible sound," he says. "It rattled everything."

In the wake of that horror, however, he saw hope.

Organizations like New Detroit were founded to work on desegregation and other solutions, and these days the Detroit police force is majority-black and, despite a rough road getting there, Conyers says he believes that organizations that are dedicated to working on improving racial justice in his city have made a difference.

"We haven’t resolved all of the problems but I think we’ve got organizations now that are sensitized," Conyers says. "This kind of thing is something in our history, but I don’t really expect that it would happen again."

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CONYERS Condemns Mississippi Governor's Anti-Union Remarks

Detroit, MI – Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) released the following statement in response to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant’s anti-union remarks:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Detroit paved the first mile of road, made the automobile a household good, and built the Middle Class.  General Motors, Ford, and FCA are only three of the more than a dozen auto makers in America—but they employ two-thirds of American autoworkers.  They have invested billions of dollars over the past few decades in Southeast Michigan.  They do the majority of their design, manufacturing, and surrounding services right here in America—and they offer their employees a much larger voice in their workplace than Governor Bryant apparently wants for his own citizens.

“Governor Bryant’s statements are a typical cheap shot.  I would be offended if he was not so transparent: he is simply parroting what the anti-worker special interests he serves want him to say.

“As someone whose own family fled Jackson, MS for opportunity in Detroit—and who still has some family in Mississippi—I wonder why is it that Bryant does not think workers in his state should have a voice?  The Mississippians I know are smart and sharp.  They should have the same say in their workplace as anyone else. Perhaps as the Governor of a state ranked 51^st in household income—Bryant should focus more on empowering workers—and less on doing the bidding of anti-union billionaires who reward him for keeping wages low and workers silent in his state.”

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CONYERSL Billionaires Posing As Populists Won't Support Trade Deals For Working People

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Last week, President Trump’s administration notified Congress of his intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Act, better known as NAFTA.  As someone who fought against NAFTA’s passage and who has watched unfair competition with low-wage nations tear apart his district—count me among the unimpressed. This is likely to be just another trade deal written by billionaires for the benefit of billionaires.

Donald Trump narrowly won my home state in 2016 on a simple promise: he was going to undo, or scrap the unfair trade deals that were hurting Michigan workers.  He promised this despite his past support for free trade, but regardless of his history, people believed he honestly opposed trade deals like NAFTA and the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Regardless of Trump’s sincerity, he appeared to give voice to the angst that Michigan workers rightfully feel about the impact of NAFTA over the past 20 years. Our workers are tired of competing against Mexican workers who make pennies on the dollar. Michiganders hate that our auto trade deficit—in our largest manufacturing industry—has tripled since NAFTA was passed to over $130 billion as of 2013.

And while NAFTA isn’t the only globalized trade force driving down American wages, Michiganders feel like it was the slippery slope that led so many manufacturers to pack up and leave.  Workers in Michigan feared that Hillary Clinton would not be in their corner on trade. That was costly for her, ultimately proving fatal in the narrow loss she suffered in Michigan.

Decades of losses under NAFTA aren’t easy to fix. Our economy has become so intertwined with Mexico’s that we cannot simply end NAFTA—we have to reform it.  That requires work and that requires a new approach.  To succeed, we need real outsiders who represent working people to write our trade deals—not billionaires like Betsy DeVos and Wilbur Ross and Steven Mnuchin, who will always put Wall Street before Detroit.

Right now, President Trump is relying on donors, family and staff to tell him what a good deal looks like.  With the exception of his Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, who has a reputation as an independent on these matters, Trump’s people are the same ones who have fought for NAFTA and its successors to make it easier to offshore jobs, break up unions, and force workers to compete against people being paid a few dollars a day.

The reason I oppose these billionaire former CEOs writing our trade laws is simple: bargaining power.  If their workers in the United States want higher wages, a CEO can bargain them down by threatening to offshore their jobs.  If environmental agencies or activists want them to stop damaging the environment, the corporate executives call them job killers and threaten to move to a country with fewer regulations and a weaker civil society.

If we want to have fair trade, then we need to be able to enforce the restrictions that make trade fair. But that’s easier said than done.  Enforcing rules and regulations is hard at home and it only gets harder oversees. If Trump gets his way, and guts the American agencies who oversee foreign countries compliance with existing trade rules—it’s going to be nearly impossible.

So far, Trump’s done very little to encourage those who want a fair renegotiation of NAFTA.  After a campaign where he talked tough, he has done little as president to back it up.  He called China a currency manipulator repeatedly during the campaign, but now he says they are not—all while his son-in-law’s family business pitches deals to Chinese investors on their access to President Trump.

At this point in his struggling presidency, Donald Trump needs to do something to fulfill his populist promises and that isn’t unconstitutional, unwise and against American’s interests. Renegotiating NAFTA to protect American workers’ jobs—and workers abroad from exploitation—could be that act.  In order to do so, he needs to have labor unions, consumer advocates, and environmental and safety regulators leading—not advising, but leading—that effort. 

We need people who care deeply about the full implications of trade to be heard with this deal. What we don’t need is another trade deal written by big business for big business.  Unfortunately, looking at Trump’s Cabinet and the people who we know have access to him, another big business trade deal seems like exactly what he’s going to push. We must remain vigilant and prepared to hold his feet to the fire to ensure good jobs for Michigan families. 

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Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) released the following statement after reports that Ford will cut 10 percent of its workforce:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“I join my fellow Detroiters in their concerns regarding reports that Ford may be cutting its worldwide workforce by up to 10 percent.  While I understand that certain shareholders are pushing the company to cut costs—it is important that Ford prioritize American jobs and the communities that support them.  Ford is one of America’s most enduring companies. As an American icon, they have a responsibility to minimize layoffs of American workers.  I encourage them to let myself as well as the rest of the Michigan delegation know how we can help protect our constituents’ jobs.”

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CONYERS, KILDEE, and LAWRENCE Reintroduces Bill To Stop Emergency Managers: Three Years After Disastrous Flint Water Switch

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Dan Kildee (D-MI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), and 17 cosponsors, today reintroduced the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act to address unchecked decision-making powers that appointed emergency financial managers have in financially distressed cities. Last week marks three years since the disastrous water switch that resulted in lead contamination in Flint, Michigan.  

Recently, Congressman Conyers, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Cedric Richmond, sent a letter to President Trump questioning the Administration’s commitment to the Flint area in light of proposed budget cuts to EPA and other agencies.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Three years later, the people of Flint continue to suffer from the misguided and disastrous choices of an emergency financial manager they did not elect to represent them. We cannot undo the damage already done by the lead-poisoned water in Flint or fix the harm already caused by the hazardous conditions in Detroit’s public schools.  But we must continue to stand together and make sure the unaccountable emergency financial managers responsible for these disasters – and the legal system that empowered them – are not permitted to inflict further harm on our citizens or our constitutional rights. I will continue to introduce the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act until its passage. We must ensure that what happened in Flint, will never happen again.” said Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13).

“Our state’s emergency financial manager law has hurt Flint and families throughout Michigan,” Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) said. 

“Unelected emergency financial managers made the decisions that led to the Flint water crisis. Their failed governing philosophy is solely focused on the bottom-line and cutting cost, often at the expense of people. Michigan families and their elected officials – not appointed and unaccountable emergency financial managers – should be in charge in the communities that they live in. This bill will help ensure what happened in Flint does not happen to other communities.”

“The Flint Water Crisis was a man-made disaster, and the people of Flint needed strong and responsible leadership to do their job and work in the best interest of the community they serve.  This never happened.  The people suffered, and they continue to suffer; while the leaders who caused this disaster hold no accountability for their actions.  This is shameful for the state of Michigan and shameful for America. It is imperative that the citizens of this great country are not denied their right to have a government that is elected and accountable.  We need immediate reform of the lack of accountability with emergency financial managers and we simply cannot allow a tragedy like this to ever happen again,” said Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14).

There are many cities in financial distress across our nation still struggling to recover from the Great Recession.  While most states work cooperatively with their cities to foster economic stability and growth, others such as the state of Michigan, use draconian, autocratic laws that usurp local elected officials and replace them with unaccountable political appointees – typically known as emergency financial managers – who, through their vast powers, can jeopardize the health and safety of those who live and work in these struggling cities. 

For example, Atlantic City, New Jersey, which is also in financial distress, is now dealing with similar issues as it struggles under the control of an unaccountable state appointed overseer with powers similar to those available to Michigan’s emergency financial managers.  Last month, that city’s police union filed a lawsuit in response to the state’s announced intention to slash pay and benefit cuts in violation of the police union’s contract, claiming that these “cuts could harm public safety and the state takeover law is unconstitutional because it impairs their contract rights.

Earlier this year, the state also proposed a 25 percent reduction in compensation for that city’s firefighters’ union members.

The Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act would authorize the U.S. Attorney General to withhold five percent of the law enforcement funds that would otherwise be allocated to a state under the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne-JAG) if the Attorney General determines that the state-appointed emergency financial manager fails to protect against the following six abuses: discriminatory impact on voting, conflicts of interest, mismanagement, and abuse of discretion, harm to public health, unilateral rejection of other contracts, and lack of notice to affected communities who cannot provide comment.

The objective of the legislation is not to deny Byrne-JAG grant funds, but rather to incentivize the states to protect their citizens against these risks and abuses when emergency financial managers are appointed.  However, if in the event the funds are withheld, they are directly reallocated to the local government for which an emergency financial manager is appointed. 

The Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act was introduced with support from the following original cosponsors: Representatives Brenda Lawrence (D-MI); Dan Kildee (D-MI); Karen Bass (D-CA), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Eddie Bernice  Johnson (D-TX), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

This legislation is identical to H.R. 4754, the “Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act of 2016,” introduced in the 114th Congress and supported by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the United Auto Workers (UAW), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among others.

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CONYERS: Our Water Infrastructure Deficit is the Real Crisis

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Politicians nationwide are neglecting one of the most pressing challenges of our generation: an unprecedented and ever-increasing deficit. If left unchecked, it will only grow in severity and continue to saddle our children and grandchildren with its devastating effects. It is a deficit that can only be addressed with decisive action from our nation’s leaders.

I am not talking about mere fiscal shortfalls, which can easily be corrected through fair tax policies. I am referring to America’s $697 billion water infrastructure deficit. On World Water Day, we must commit our nation to fulfilling the basic promise of universal access to clean water.

In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, affirming our government’s commitment to ensuring access to clean water for all Americans. But over the past four decades, Congress failed to fulfill this promise. Funding for water infrastructure peaked in 1977, but fell by 74% in real dollars by 2014. At its zenith the federal government spent $76.27 per person (in 2014 dollars) on water services. By 2014 that number was just $13.68 per person. The sustained lack of funding for water services has led to an aging infrastructure that, according to the latest EPA reports, will require $697 billion in repairs over the next twenty years. In contrast, US defense spending nearly doubled over the same time span to over $700 billion a year, including funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and President Trump says we can afford an additional $54 billion a year in military spending. It is time we acknowledge that a modern, safe drinking and wastewater system is at least as important to American national security as bombs and bullets.

Tragically, the State of Michigan already experienced firsthand the horror of what can happen when aging infrastructure meets the ideology of austerity. Decisions made by the state-appointed officials in Flint resulted in a public health crisis leaving tens of thousands of children exposed to dangerously high levels of lead. Many of the victims will suffer from lifelong impairments because of this exposure.

But the tragedy in Flint is not an anomaly. It is not an isolated incident that merits our thoughts and prayers but little action or accountability. Reports of lead levels in Detroit Public Schools of 100 times the allowable limit caused the Detroit Department of Health to call for lead screening for all students under the age of 6. Flint was a warning sign, a harbinger of a future with a crumbling water infrastructure, a future that looks increasingly like our present situation. Even in the halls of Congress, hundreds of offices lost access to tap water last year due to elevated levels of lead. Without federal funding, the crisis in Flint could very well become the norm across the nation. With over 11,000 community water systems utilizing 6 million lead service pipelines, the risk of another Flint is far too high.

That is why today I am reintroducing an overdue piece of legislation, “The Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability (WATER) Act,” which is co-sponsored by 18 members of Congress and supported by over 60 national and grassroots organizations.

The WATER Act will issue grants to ensure homeowners’ service lines that may contain lead are replaced. Our water infrastructure problems extend far beyond lead pipes, however. Over one million miles of piping beneath our streets and homes, a century and a half worth of cast iron, copper, and even wooden vessels, are nearing the end of their lives. The American Water Works Association warns that leaving our decaying infrastructure unchecked will result in “degrading water service, increasing water service disruptions, and increasing expenditures for emergency repairs.” A modern water system may be a challenge for many developing countries – it should not be for the wealthiest nation on the planet.

To directly address the lead found in water at public schools in Detroit and across the country, the WATER Act provides funding to public schools for testing, repairing, replacing, or installing the necessary infrastructure for drinking water. Our children should not endanger their long-term health at the water fountain between classes.

The WATER Act’s $35 billion annual expenditure will be paid for by needed changes to our corporate tax code. The act ends the income tax deferral for offshore corporate profits, a move expected to generate over $60 billion annually. The $35 billion for repairing and replacing our infrastructure will create around one million new jobs here in America—jobs that cannot be outsourced to other countries. I further included Buy America provisions to ensure that the materials used are produced right here, and have indicated that union labor must be given a priority in the construction contracts, so that jobs created by my bill will be family-supporting jobs.

The WATER Act is a win-win-win for the American people. We will no longer feel anxious as we pour our children a glass of water, wondering if it is clean and safe. We will ensure corporations pay their fair share of taxes. And we will put hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work modernizing American infrastructure. Congress should give Americans something to drink to, and pass my WATER Act without delay.

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On World Water Day, Conyers Reintroduces Bill To Address Nation's Water Infrastructure Crisis

Washington, D.C. — Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) today reintroduced the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability(WATER) Act. This legislation would provide nearly $35 billion annually to modernize U.S. water infrastructure. The WATER Act funds infrastructure projects by closing a loophole on offshore corporate profits. The WATER Act would make these profits subject to U.S. tax in the year they are generated and ensure that all funds would go to publicly-owned water systems, rather than for-profit providers.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Today, we mark World Water Day 2017—where we focus on how important this fundamental resource is to life itself. Around the world, people struggle with access to safe, affordable water—sadly America is no different. Thousands of communities depend on water pipes that are a century old, unsafe, and need to be replaced,” Congressman Conyers said. “That is why I’m introducing the WATER Act of 2017, which funds a massive investment in our public water utilities and creates thousands of jobs in every community. It would help places like Flint, where lead has made the water undrinkable—or Detroit, where outdated infrastructure makes water unaffordable. In the richest country in the world—safe, affordable water in every home is a basic human right.  The WATER Act would make that principle a reality for every American.”

More than 11,200 community water systems have lead service lines, some of which provide water to schools. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates roughly $697 billion is needed to upgrade our drinking water and wastewater systems over the next 20 years.  Without adequate federal support, communities often have to compensate for the funding gap by raising service rates, which some households cannot afford, leading some—including thousands of Detroiters—to be cut off from water and sewer service. Current failing service lines pose a danger to the environment, and wastewater overflows threaten public health. Congressman Conyers introduced the WATER Act to help ensure access to safe, clean, affordable water service. The bill reintroduction comes a day after reports indicated that nearly 380,000 Michigan residents get their water from systems that would fail to meet lead-safety standards proposed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

The WATER Act would allow states to issue grants to replace lead service lines and would establish a School Drinking Water Improvement Grant program to provide funding to public primary and secondary schools that wish to test, repair, replace or install the infrastructure necessary for drinking water foundations or bottle filling stations. Additionally, the WATER Act creates a new grant program to help households install, repair, replace and upgrade septic tanks and drainage fields. The legislation also amends the existing Tribal grant program to increase the amount of assistance from 1.5 percent of Drinking Water SRF funds to 3 percent.

The legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Keith Ellison (MN-05), Dwight Evans (PA-02), Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01), Betty McCollum (MN-04), James McGovern (MA-02), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Peter Welch (VT-At Large). It is endorsed by over 60 labor unions, national and grassroots organizations, including:  Food & Water Watch, Public Citizen, AFSCME, UAW, National Nurses United, 9to5, National Association of Working Women, Alliance for Democracy, Center for Biological Diversity, Corporate Accountability International, Hip Hop Caucus, Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network, United Church of Christ, Detroit Metropolitan Association Social Justice Mission Team, Michigan United, Water You Fighting For, We the People of Detroit.

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CONYERS: For Once, I Agree With Governor Snyder!

Washington, D.C. – Today, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder sent a letter to the entire Michigan Congressional Delegation informing them of his opposition to the American Health Care Act, the House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump backed plan to sharply cut Medicaid and reduce taxes for the wealthiest Americans. In his letter, Governor Snyder points out that the bill “shifts significant financial risk and cost from the federal government to states without providing sufficient flexibility to manage this additional responsibility,” and that it “reduces federal resources that our state relies on to assist 2.4 million Michiganders enrolled in traditional Medicaid and the Healthy Michigan Plan …”

In response, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) released the following statement:

Dean of the U.S, House
of Representatives
John Conyers Jr.

“For once, I agree with Governor Snyder’s views on the Republican healthcare bill — or as I call it, wealth care bill. As Snyder points out, about half of all children in Michigan are served by Medicaid, and those children will suffer if Donald Trump and Paul Ryan pass this massive tax cut for the wealthy.

“The bill is a massive transfer of wealth that takes money from those most in need and gives it to the rich. Under this bill, the 400 wealthiest families in America get a tax break worth $7 million per year. The bill undoes protections that the Affordable Care Act provides by allowing insurance companies to discriminate against cancer survivors or people with disabilities by charging them higher rates, or denying them coverage altogether. This Trump/Ryan backed bill also allows insurance companies to charge seniors five times more than what others pay for the same plan.

“Governor Snyder is right to be concerned about the additional costs this bad bill will shift to the state of Michigan. Because I believe that healthcare is a right for all, not a privilege for those who can afford it, I have long championed a single-payer, Medicare-for-All approach to healthcare that would finally establish truly universal care. If Governor Snyder is serious about reducing the strain on state resources, I call on him to join me in supporting Medicare-for-All, which would virtually eliminate state spending to subsidize care.”

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CONYERS & KILDEE Applaud Michigan Federal Judge Victoria Roberts For Upholding The Law Against Trump's Un-American Muslim & Refugee Ban

Washington, DC – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (MI-14) and Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-5), today released the following joint statement after Michigan U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts issued an injunction against Trump’s Muslim and refugee ban Executive Order:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“The permanent injunction issued by Judge Roberts is yet another demonstration that Trump’s Executive Order is both illegal and offensive to American values.  Every court to have reviewed the Executive Order thus far has sided against the President and taken immediate action to prevent unconscionable injustice.  We applaud Judge Roberts and Federal Courts across this country for reminding us that we are both a country of laws and a nation of immigrants.

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CONYERS Statement On Criminal Charges In Flint Water Crisis

Detroit, MI - Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) released the following statement after criminal charges were filed concerning the Flint water crisis:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“We welcome all efforts to secure justice for the people of Flint, including the investigation of criminal actions by emergency managers and others. However, much remains to be done in the pursuit of justice for Flint residents and to ensure that no other community suffers from the actions of unaccountable political appointees that they did not elect.

“The simple fact is that no matter how many people are prosecuted or sued by Attorney General Schuette, it will not undo the damage Flint has suffered. The State must continue its efforts to ameliorate the harms committed in Flint and the Governor and others must ensure that sufficient resources are provided to those who continue to be harmed.  If the state is unwilling to secure the requisite funding, the City of Flint should have the opportunity to bring a civil action seeking compensation from the State for the harms it caused to the citizens of Flint. The State also needs to finally repeal its Emergency Law which is antidemocratic, discriminatory, and a vehicle for corporate privatization, conflicts of interest, and corruption.

“Until Flint’s water is fully safe, its children are made whole, and we see consequences for all those who stripped Flint’s citizens of their political and civil rights to protect themselves, there will be neither justice nor resolution for the people of Flint.”

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MI CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE RESOLUTION TO MARK 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF UNDERGROUND RAILROAD MEMORIAL MONUMENT IN DETROIT

Washington, D.C. – Members of the Michigan Congressional delegation introduced H.Res. 946, a resolution in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to commemorate 15 years since the opening of the International Underground Railroad Memorial Monument (IURMM). 

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Led in the House of Representatives by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Rep. Sandy Levin (MI-9), and Rep. Dan Kildee (MI-5); and the Senate by Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, the resolution honors Detroit’s role as a crossing point into Canada for those traveling the Underground Railroad.  Comprised of the Gateway to Freedom Monument in Detroit, Michigan, and the Tower of Freedom Monument in Windsor, Ontario, the IURMM opened in October 2001 as a way for the region to honor the sacrifices and the courage of those who fought to secure freedom for themselves, their families, and others.

“These two monuments—in Detroit and Windsor—stand as reminders of what we have been through, the obstacles we’ve overcome, and the strength we have to address present injustices,” said Rep. Conyers.  “Americans must never forget the parts of our history that we regret, or the heroic actions of those who fought to change the future. The International Underground Railroad Memorial Monument plays an important part in that, here in Detroit.”

“The City of Detroit played a critical role in the Underground Railroad, serving as the doorway to freedom for African Americans seeking refuge in Canada,” said Senator Peters. “I’m honored to join my Michigan colleagues to recognize these monuments that stand as a symbol of the people who fought for their own freedom and the freedom of others during a dark chapter in our nation’s history.”

The International Underground Railroad Memorial Monument represents a cross-border partnership that seeks to educate the next generation about our history, and help the current generation remember the sacrifices others have made to provide us the opportunities we need to succeed.

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District 13: U.S. Rep. John Conyers defeats Jeff Gorman

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. will remain the longest-serving member of Congress after pulling off another re-election victory in Michigan’s 13th District on Tuesday.

The race between the 87-year-old Detroit Democrat and his Republican challenger Jeff Gorman was called by the Associated Press on Tuesday with Conyers leading by a margin of 81 to 11 percent.

Gorman, 60, is a retired commercial airline pilot and Naval aviator from Garden City whose platform called for downsizing and simplifying the federal government.

MI: 13RD HOUSE DISTRICT

View Full Results

Updated Nov. 9, at 5:30 a.m.

Conyers (D)*

194,758 votes

77.0%

Gorman (R)

39,242 votes

16.0%

* Incumbent

100% rpt

The district includes western Detroit, River Rouge, Ecorse, Redford Township, Dearborn Heights, Highland Park, Westland, Garden City, Inkster, Wayne and Romulus.

In the August primary, Conyers defeated Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey 61 percent to 39 percent.

Conyers is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which was formed in 1969.

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CONYERS: Straight Talk From The Michigan 13th Congressional Candidate

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