As House Republicans Block Immigration Reform, Conyers Backs President Obama’s Strategy

(DETROIT) – Today, the White House made public that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has no intention of bringing immigration reform legislation up for a vote on the House Floor. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement after President Obama’s announcement that he will take administrative steps in the coming months to reform the country’s immigration system:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“It is now abundantly clear that this do-nothing Congress will take no action this year to reform our immigration laws. In the face of an intransigent Congress and a broken immigration system, I fully support the Obama Administration in taking decisive action to protect families and ensure that our immigration enforcement efforts are carried out in a humane manner. At the same time, I believe that we must take responsible and compassionate steps to address the plight of unaccompanied children and families apprehended along our southwest border. A humanitarian crisis requires a humanitarian solution.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers & Cohen: “Supreme Court Ruling an Affront to Reproductive Rights, While Opening Door to Employer Discrimination”

(WASHINGTON) – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, ruling that closely-held for-profit companies with religious objections can opt out of providing contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act. After the ruling, Ranking Members John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) delivered the following statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.): “Today, the Supreme Court delivered yet another blow to women’s reproductive rights, based on the extraordinary conclusion that corporations – as opposed to their individual owners – have their own right to the free exercise of religion. Already, millions of women in America are benefiting from the protections found in the Affordable Care Act, including access to contraceptives. The ruling today could undermine this essential coverage for many women under the guise of ‘religious liberty.’ Alarmingly, the ruling also opens the door to the unnerving possibility that corporations could claim exemptions to various health and safety protections based on their asserted religious beliefs. Regrettably, the Supreme Court’s ruling today allows for bosses to wade into – and potentially discriminate against – the personal healthcare choices of their employees; healthcare decisions must continue to remain between an individual and their doctor.”

Representative Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.): “I am disappointed in today’s Supreme Court ruling that puts women’s reproductive care in a class of its own and strips it as an element of comprehensive healthcare. This ruling means that the Affordable Care Act’s benefit of contraceptive care is no longer guaranteed for the millions of American women who are employed by private businesses helmed by anyone who may object to providing basic, preventive care to its female employees. I am disappointed in this wrong-minded ruling and will continue to work to see that women have access to the care they deserve as prescribed by the Affordable Care Act.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

In Letters, Conyers Enlists President Obama, HHS Secretary & Detroit Water and Sewage Dept. Director to Stop Water Shutoffs & Protect Detroiters

(DETROIT) – Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) sent three letters - to President Obama, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell, and Sue McCormick, Director and Chief Executive Office of the Detroit Water and Sewage Department - requesting immediate federal action and local relief for the water crisis impacting thousands of Detroiters. Copies of the three letters are attached. After the letters were transmitted, Representative Conyers issued the following statement:

U.S. representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“Since March, water service for up to 3,000 Detroit customers per week has been cut off due to an overzealous and misguided approach to cost-cutting by the Detroit Water and Sewage Department. As water rates have skyrocketed 119 percent over the past decade, upwards of 90,000 largely impoverished households are currently in arrears and in danger of termination. Regardless of the rationale for these cutoffs, the human consequences are unacceptable and unsustainable. The failure to reinstate water service means unsanitary conditions, malnutrition and disease for babies, the sick, and the elderly,” said Conyers.

“The time for action is now. Throughout the past week I have worked with local residents, state and federal officials to resolve this crisis; today I am taking this issue to the highest levels – by sending letters to President Obama, HHS Secretary Burwell, and Detroit Water and Sewage Department Director McCormick – to stop the shutoffs and protect Detroiters. Specifically, I wrote urging the following actions be taken immediately:

Ø  Calling on President Obama to make available for relief some of the $200 million still available for Michigan from theHardest Hit Fund - a reserve made available for relief from impacts of the Great Recession

Ø  Requesting that HHS Secretary Burwell formally designate the water crisis a public health emergency eligible for direct federal relief

Ø  Urging an immediate end to the shutoffs by the Detroit Water and Sewage Department

“In the 21st Century - in the wealthiest nation on earth - no one should ever go without safe, clean water. These steps are just the beginning, as we work determinedly to ensure that this crisis is resolved and never repeated.”

Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch added: “We applaud Representative Conyers for taking action to demand that water service is restored to all Detroit residents. When 45 percent of the city struggles to pay for water in their home, it is clear that the problems go far beyond delinquent payments. It’s indicative of broader, systemic issues resulting from decades of bad public policy that have culminated in profits before people. Governor Snyder should act to ensure that all residents have their water restored--access to safe, clean, affordable water is a human right.”

Letter from Representative John Conyers to President Obama on Detroit Eater Shut Offs, June 26, 2014

Letter from Representative John Conyers to HHS Secretary on Detroit Water Shutoffs, June 27, 2014

Letter from Representative John Conyers to Detroit Water and Sewage Director Requesting to Stop Water Shuto...

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Detroit’s Water Cutoffs: Counterproductive and Coldhearted

By John Conyers, Jr.

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

Imagine a week without running water. Imagine not only the physical thirst but also the inability to bathe, to cook, or to clean. Imagine the hardships this scenario would present for a family with children in diapers and the public health risks it would impose on a broader community.

This is the reality right now in Detroit. But we can change it. Today, I am proposing a range of solutions -- including an immediate cessation of shutoffs, special protections for vulnerable groups, and new long-term investments in the water system -- to resolve this crisis.

What makes the current situation particularly troubling is that it is not the result of a real disaster or an underdeveloped water system, but rather the result of a short-sighted business decision.

With its location amidst the Great Lakes and extensive sanitation systems, Detroit should have access to plentiful and inexpensive water. Yet, due to an overzealous and misguided approach to cost-cutting, the local utility has, since March, been cutting off water service for up to 3,000 customers per week. With water rates skyrocketing 119 percent over the past decade, up to 90,000 largely impoverished households are currently in arrears and in danger of termination.

This isn't just bad ethics. It's short-sighted economics.

Water cutoffs are not a pathway to financial solvency. To the contrary, actions that deny residents the ability to cook and clean for themselves and their families create costly long-term challenges related to dysfunction and disease. I'm talking about babies, the sick, and the elderly going without the most essential life-sustaining substance because of a bad business decision. The failure to reinstate water service means unsanitary conditions, malnutrition and disease. Ultimately, it means more people forced to leave the city, further depleting the tax base and worsening the financial position of public entities like water department.

So why are local authorities even attempting these cutoffs? The clearest answer is that they're a prelude to privatization -- a signal to potential investors that the utility is getting tough on those who miss payments. Privatization is a growing trend among water utilities, but a trend that's been demonstrated to increase costs and lower quality. Under many of the "concession contracts" that have become popular in the U.S. and beyond, investors pay an upfront sum to the local government in exchange for the rights to maximize profits by over-charging and under-serving residents. Regardless of the rationale for these cutoffs, the human consequences are unacceptable and unsustainable.

It's time for action. This week, working with local residents and state and federal officials, I am pursuing a range of options to stop the shutoffs and protect Detroiters:

• I am formally requesting that the water department cease all cutoffs, and -- at the absolute least -- immediately cease any threats and cutoffs affecting families with young children, the elderly, pregnant women, the infirmed, and households with a demonstrated inability to pay.

• In a letter to President Obama, I am calling for his administration to make some of the more than $200 million still available for Michigan from the Hardest Hit Fund -- a reserve made available for relief from impacts of the Great Recession -- available for relief from the water crisis.

• I am requesting that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services take steps to formally designate this situation a public health emergency eligible for direct federal relief.

• I am requesting that the Department of Justice conduct a broader investigation into the legality of draconian water shutoffs under the authority of an unelected emergency manager.

• Working with nongovernmental organizations from around the world, I am calling on the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Water and Sanitation to come to Detroit to document the failure to distribute an abundant and essential resource.

These actions are just the beginning. In the 21st Century, in the wealthiest nation on earth, no one should go without safe, clean, public water.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

An election without protection

By John Conyers and Barbara Arnwine

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

The 2014 mid-term elections are coming, with the political season upon us. It is all so familiar—the ads on TV, knocks on the door, and calls during dinner as candidates vie for the hearts, minds, and votes of America’s electorate. Unfortunately, these elections are also gearing up, in ways reminiscent of the past, to be accompanied by high levels of activity to restrict the electorate’s ability to vote. Unless Congress acts very quickly, these elections will be the first in fifty years not protected by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. For the leaders of our nation—those who came to Congress to serve the American people and protect our democracy—the gutting of our Voting Rights Act should be a call to arms.

There is no doubt that we are seeing a more divided electorate and a more divided Congress. But there is one thing that most of us should be able to agree upon: Every eligible American citizen has a right to go to the polls, to cast a vote, and to have that vote counted. This is a fundamental American freedom, a cornerstone of our democracy, and one of our proudest traditions.

And we must all do our part to keep it that way. Staying on the sidelines is NOT an option.

In the past two election cycles, we have seen an increase in legislation, policies, and practices designed to strategically and systematically limit Americans’ ability to vote. And a year ago today, inShelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court gutted the core of our Voting Rights Act with a divided and controversial decision. The decision struck down the formula that determined which states and localities, because of a history of voter discrimination, had to obtain federal approval prior to implementing changes in voting laws. Prior toShelby, on hundreds of occasions, federal review stopped states from rigging voting rules against their own citizens.

The Shelby decision and nullification of federal review marked a devastating and monumental setback for voting rights in America. Within twenty minutes of the Supreme Court’s decision, the attorney general of Texas announced he would implement a restrictive voter ID law that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act had blocked. Other states such as North Carolina and Alabama enacted similarly restrictive laws.

During the 2014 election, new voting restrictions will be in effect for the first time in a major federal election in up to nine states, pending court challenges. As we near the election, this situation may well worsen. Without the protections of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, some officials will do everything in their power to attempt to institute restrictive voting measures.  For example, in certain states, Secretaries of State may move polling places without considering the effect upon all communities and without giving sufficient notice to those affected.  Whether or not the intent to restrict the vote can be proven before Election Day, these actions, if not challenged, will undermine the values of American democracy.

Fighting voting discrimination is not just about protecting minority rights, but it is about protecting the fundamental rights and values of all Americans. That is why for nearly fifty years, the Voting Rights Act has garnered bipartisan support, and why that support must continue today.

Democrats and Republicans must work together to strengthen the Voting Rights Act now. Today, on the one year anniversary of the Shelby decision, the Senate is holding a hearing on a Voting Rights Amendment Act. It is imperative that the Senate and the House of Representatives move in short order to advance this bill, which was introduced in the House by a bipartisan group of members in January.

As we did 50 years ago with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, America must once again make fundamental decisions about what type of nation we want to be. Policies that restrict voting are not the tools of great leaders, but the tricks of those who view our electoral process as a parlor game. It is time for the great leaders in Congress, both Democrat and Republican, to rise up and end these practices. The price of failure is democracy itself.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers: “Human Tragedy Along Southern Border Should Not Be a Partisan Issue”

(WASHINGTON) – Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled, “An Administration Made Disaster: The South Texas Border Surge of Unaccompanied Alien Minors.” This hearing comes as a humanitarian crisis in parts of Central America is felt along the Southwest border of the United States - where thousands of children have arrived in recent weeks - largely as a result of violence occurring in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. As the hearing got underway, full committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement:

U.S. Re[resentative
John Conyers, Jr.

“The title of this hearing gives me great concern, not just because it unfairly attacks the President, or that it presupposes a conclusion without any substantial evidence, but that it dangerously mischaracterizes the issue at hand. At best, it evidences a desire to use the humanitarian crisis playing out along the border as an excuse to not act on comprehensive immigration reform. At worst, it demonstrates that some of my Republican colleagues are willing to exploit even a humanitarian crisis - involving children no less - to attack the Obama Administration. There is simply no place for this posturing and finger-pointing in the face of this human tragedy,” said Conyers.

“I had hoped that the Judiciary Committee could have a balanced discussion about causes and solutions to the crisis we are seeing play out along the border. The dramatic flow of children across our Southwest border is the symptom of the real humanitarian crisis that is going on every day in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala where most of these children are from. Many of these children are fleeing record violence in their home countries and asking for protection abroad – not only in the United States, but also in places such as Mexico, Nicaragua, Beliza, Panama and Costa Rica.

“We must rise to meet the challenge this humanitarian crisis poses and demonstrate our continuing commitment to the protection of refugees as well as the rule of law. Now is the time to lay down our legislative armor, stop the political theatrics, and do something simply because it is the right thing to do.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers: Water Cutoff Threatens Public Health c

Congressman Vows Action to Restore Water Service for Detroit Residents

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) strongly condemned recent cutoffs that have left thousands of Detroit residents without access to drinking water or basic sanitation. In March, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) announced it would begin terminating water service for up to 3,000 customers per week if their water bills were not paid. Last week, the Detroit City Council approved an 8.7 percent increase in the water rate. According to recent statistics from the DWSD, approximately 80,000 area households are currently in arrears. In response, Representative Conyers issued the following statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

“Detroit’s water crisis did not happen in a vacuum. Over the past decade, Detroiters have seen their water rates increase by 119 percent. Over this same period, forces beyond city residents’ control—including a global financial crisis that left one-in-five local residences in foreclosure and sent local unemployment rates skyrocketing—severely undercut Detroiters’ ability to pay,” said Conyers.

“Draconian water cutoffs are not a pathway to financial solvency. To the contrary, actions that deny residents the ability to bathe, hydrate, or prepare meals for themselves and their families create costly long-term public health challenges. These water cutoffs are not only inhumane but economically short-sighted.

“I am developing a range of solutions with local stakeholders to address the crisis, including requesting federal emergency relief, engaging the local water authority to ensure protection of vulnerable populations, and introducing legislation to protect access to water during bankruptcy proceedings. In the coming days, I will be working with my colleagues in Congress, state and federal officials, and my constituents to defend the right to water and protect public health. I will not tolerate the notion that—in the 21^st Century, in the wealthiest nation on earth—families should go without access to affordable public water and sanitation services.”

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©