50 Years Ago, LBJ Signs Medicare & Medicaid Into Law

50 years ago, President Johnson signed into law, Medicare & Medicaid to provide health care to old, the young, the sick and the veterans who have served this nation.

50 years later, our elected officials want to "unsign" the health care law.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare bill and dedicated it to Harry S. Truman, the former president who "planted the seeds of compassion".

No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine. No longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over a lifetime so that they might enjoy dignity in their later years. No longer will young families see their own incomes, and their own hopes, eaten away simply because they are carrying out their deep moral obligations to their parents, and to their uncles, and their aunts.

And no longer will this Nation refuse the hand of justice to those who have given a lifetime of service and wisdom and labor to the progress of this progressive country.

President Lyndon B. Johnson

July 30, 1965

Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Conyers, Jr. has introduced Medicare For All.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is planning to introduce a single-payer healthcare bill in Congress.

#MedicareForAll

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CONYERS renews call for end to racial profiling

Washington — U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. is seizing on the new film “Detroit” and the 50th anniversary of the city’s uprising to renew his call for greater accountability and training for police in an push to end racial profiling.

Conyers, portrayed in the film by actor Laz Alonso, convened a discussion Thursday evening at the U.S. Capitol with “Detroit” director Kathryn Bigelow, Alonso and others to discuss these issues and screen the movie for members of Congress, their staffs and guests.

“As we have seen from police-involved shooting incidents and Department of Justice investigations around the country, 1967 Detroit is being repeated every year still,” Conyers said.

“For this reason, I continue to pursue improving police relationships and accountability and criminal justice reform here in Congress.”

Conyers has introduced a bill to prohibit racial profiling in every Congress since 2001. It would require retraining of law-enforcement officers on how to discontinue racial profiling and would mandate data collection.

The film focuses on the incident at the Algiers Motel, set against the backdrop of the 1967 Detroit uprising – also called the 12th Street Riot.

The Algiers incident involved three black men who died during an interrogation by police officers. The officers tried for the deaths were found not guilty. Observers have drawn parallels to the recent deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Philando Castile, who were also killed by police.

Bigelow said the movie came about in the wake of Brown’s shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, when her screenwriter brought her the story of the 1967 Algiers incident.

“As I was listening to the story, I found myself thinking it didn’t feel like 50 years ago,” Bigelow said. “I thought we would benefit from seeing this story. It’s a very tragic one – an American tragedy – but in a perfect would it might stimulate a conversation.”

As the riots grew in 1967, Conyers went into the streets and tried to quell the community’s rage, directing it to more “proactive organization,” he said.

The film recreates the scene of Conyers grasping a bullhorn atop a car in the middle of the crowd, urging his neighbors and constituents to stop the destruction.

“What I felt more than anything, in the rebellion scene, was the need to be heard. Everyone needed to be heard. The citizens of Detroit were not being heard,” Alonso said.

“When Representative Conyers went up to talk to these people, he needed to be heard. …

Unfortunately, at that moment in time, the bubble had burst, and there was no listening. It was all action. All the frustrations that had built up for so long.”

Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence was a young girl on the east side of Detroit during the riots. She recalls her grandmother’s anxiety and television images of military tanks rolling down city streets.

In an interview, she stressed the need for community leaders around the country to provide ongoing training for police.

“We are held responsible – us in government – for the training and the accountability of our police. This movie shows where some of the failures happened,” said Lawrence, the former mayor of Southfield.

“It’s an opportunity for us to step back and say, if we don’t train, or have better accountability in collecting data, we could be right where we were. Ferguson happened just recently. I’m hoping the outcome of this film will be that it will create a sense of urgency for our local governments to train and invest in our police officers.”

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/27/rep-john-conyers-renews-call-end-racial-profiling/104062548/

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CONYERS, BEYERS, House Democrats Introduce Security Clearance Review Act

Would authorize the FBI Director to revoke the security clearance of Senior White House staff

July 28, 2017 (Washington, D.C.) – Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Don Beyer (D-VA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, today introduced the Security Clearance Review Act. The bill would authorize the Director of the FBI to revoke the security clearance of an employee of the Executive Office of the President if the Director deems such actions necessary to national security. Their legislation was cosponsored by 19 additional Representatives.

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

“The Trump Administration has a very poor track record when it comes to their handling of classified information—and those are only incidents we know about,” said Rep. Conyers.  “Given that several senior officials appear to have failed to disclose their contacts with foreign governments on their applications for a security clearance, given that President Trump is related by marriage to at least one of these officials, and given that the President himself appears to have played fast and loose with sensitive intelligence, it is imperative that the authority to revoke these clearances extend beyond the President, to include the Director of the FBI.”

“Donald Trump’s refusal to hold his senior staff accountable for their deceptions on Russia have sadly made this legislation necessary,” said Rep. Beyer. “Despite all we have learned about his secret meetings with Russians, Jared Kushner apparently continues to hold his clearance.  Jared Kushner’s case and that of disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn make it clear that we need further protections when it comes to security clearances for the President’s family and closest advisers. I thank my colleague, Ranking Member Conyers, for working with me to craft legislation to protect our national security.”

The cosponsors of the bill are Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Norma Torres (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), David Cicilline (D-RI), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

The bill is, below.

Rep. Beyer has led congressional attempts to hold Jared Kushner accountable for “omitted” meetings with Russian officials from his SF-86 form since Kushner’s failure to disclose those meetings was revealed. In April, Beyer and four other Representatives asked the Administration to suspend Jared Kushner’s security clearance.

The FBI’s response to that letter alerted the Representatives to the surprising fact that the President alone holds final authority to suspend or revoke employees of the Executive Office of the President.

Beyer subsequently led over 50 Members of Congress in calling for immediate revocation of Kushner’s security clearance following revelations that the Special Prosecutor was investigating Kushner’s meetings with Russian officials. 

Earlier this month, Beyer led nearly two dozen Representatives seeking FBI scrutiny of White House adviser Ivanka Trump over possible omissions on her SF-86.

Security Clearance Review Act 115th Congress 1st Session by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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U.S. House Judiciary Committee Calls For Special Investigation of Loretta Lynch, James Comey & Hillary Clinton

Letter of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint a second special counsel to investigate a plethora of matters connected to the 2016 election and its aftermath, including actions taken by previously public figures like Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

U.S. House Judiciary Letter To Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein To Investig... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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CONYERS Statement On Senator Daines Using Medicare For All As A Pawn

Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) today released the following statement on Republican Senator Steve Daines using Rep. Conyers’ H.R. 676, Medicare for All legislation as a pawn in his scheme to force a vote on Senate Democrats:

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

“The process by which the Senate is considering changes to our nation’s healthcare plan is a sham, and Senate Democrats are right not to take part in it. We’ve said all along that Republicans should be holding hearings, soliciting input from the public, and carefully weighing analysis from the Congressional Budget Office. My proposal is no different. In fact, Medicare for All is far more popular than the status quo or anything Republicans have put forward, with about 60% of Americans in support, so it’s even more deserving of hearings and a CBO score.

“Poll after poll shows that Americans agree that we have a collective obligation to guarantee healthcare coverage to everyone through a government financed healthcare system. A majority of my Democratic colleagues in the House are cosponsors of my Medicare for All bill. Republicans are right: thanks to its overwhelming popularity, Medicare for All has become the alternative to Trumpcare. So let’s have a real debate, including hearings, independent analysis, and input from doctors, patients, and hospitals. What we shouldn’t be doing is holding disingenuous 11^th-hour votes on any ideas that haven’t be subjected to the normal legislative process.”

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CONYERS: House Judiciary Committee To Consider Sessions' Recusal and Comey Firing Resolution

Washington, DC – On Wednesday, July 26, 2017, the House Judiciary Committee will consider Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and David Cicilline’s (RI-01) resolution of inquiry requesting the Trump Administration to release any and all information pertaining to Attorney General Sessions’ involvement in the firing of FBI Director James Comey in violation of his recusal and related matters. The full text of the Resolution of Inquiry can be found, below.

Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr., issued the following statement:

 

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

“The Majority has shown itself to be in complete lockstep with President Trump.  Rather than talk about a crisis at the Department of Justice, our colleagues would rather re-litigate the 2016 election and question the credibility of a long list of public servants who no longer work for the government.

“There is simply no excuse for our Committee’s failure to hold a single oversight hearing on these matters.  Their attempt to hide behind stale conspiracy theories is both tone deaf and counterproductive.  It makes the Majority complicit in the actions of President Trump and his associates.

“I am disappointed that the Republicans denied us an opportunity to debate our resolution, but we will not be deterred.  Whether the crisis comes to the Committee or the Committee comes to the crisis, we will conduct oversight of the Trump Administration.”

BACKGROUND:  A resolution of inquiry is a legislative tool that has privileged parliamentary status, meaning it can be brought to the floor if the relevant committee hasn’t reported it within 14 legislative days, even if the Majority leadership has not scheduled it for a vote.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats have long been calling for House Judiciary Republicans to provide proper oversight over Trump and his Administration. Democrats have written to Chairman Goodlatte four times to request hearings on Russian interference with the 2016 election, potential collusion with Russia, the firing of James Comey and Attorney General Sessions’ recusal. 

 Democrats have also sent several letters to Speaker Paul Ryan, the Department of Justice and the White House requesting related information. 

Despite Judiciary Republicans’ attempts to block Democratic efforts, resolutions of inquiry should be the proper next step in the Committee’s oversight of the Trump Administration.  House Judiciary Republicans have so far blocked Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY) resolution of inquiry and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Ted Lieu’s (D-CA) resolution of inquiry, from reaching the House floor.  

House Judiciary Committee Resolution Of Inquiry Requesting Trump Administration To Release Information On S... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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CONYERS Condemns Senate Vote To Start Obamacare Repeal Process

Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted to start debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act:

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

“I’m horrified by what today’s vote means for poor and working people in this country. The Affordable Care Act is not perfect and I have said this many times. However, in Detroit alone, the uninsured rate has dropped from 22% to 7.4% over the last 3 years. That progress will be undone by today’s vote.

“The proposals that Republicans have on the table will result in more than 50,000 people in my district losing coverage. Nationwide, premiums will skyrocket for those lucky enough to have insurance and Medicaid will be cut by 1/3 - meaning that people will likely die. I don’t say that to be hyperbolic; it’s simply a fact that lack of access to care results in preventable deaths.

“Today’s vote makes clear what I’ve been saying for decades: the only way forward is through a single, national insurance plan: Medicare for All. Virtually every other advanced country on earth uses a government guaranteed model rather than relying on employer-sponsored care through a for-profit insurance industry. These countries spend 30-60% less than we do, with longer life-expectancy and lower infant and maternal mortality rates. We are the richest country on earth. It is a moral failure that we lag so far behind the rest of the world on healthcare. When Democrats regain control of Congress and the White House, it is essential that we invest in Medicare expansion and extend it to every American.”

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