John Conyers

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), who is a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear at the outset of this debate that this legislation does nothing to make our communities safer, and it does nothing to improve our immigration system. Instead, H.R. 3003 will trample the rights of States and localities to determine what is in the best interest of their public safety, and it will conscript law enforcement to enforce Federal immigration law. The ultimate experts on community safety are communities themselves, and hundreds of them have determined that, as community trust increases, crime decreases. This is because immigrants will come out of the shadows and report crimes to local law enforcement when they are not threatened with deportation. In fact, a recent study found that community trust jurisdictions are actually safer than their counterparts. Against this considered judgment, H.R. 3003 forces localities to abandon community trust principles and mandates the conscription of local offices into Federal immigration enforcement. Some localities, of course, would rightfully resist this conscription. As punishment, H.R. 3003 would rob them of vital law enforcement funding that they depend on to prevent crime, prosecute criminals, and boost community policing ranks. Localities, therefore, would face a losing choice: they can abandon community trust policies and leave their communities in danger, or they can leave community trust policies in place but forgo law enforcement funding, leaving their community in danger. It is important that we consider that this is more than just bad policy. It is also likely unconstitutional for multiple reasons. First, H.R. 3003 likely violates the 10th Amendment by commandeering States to comply with detainer requests that drain their resources. In addition, the bill's changes to the Department of Homeland Security's detainer authority exacerbate the current Fourth Amendment concerns associated with immigration detainers. The bill does not require any particularized finding about the individual that may form the basis of a probable cause determination and fails to provide for a prompt judicial determination of probable cause. The bill further compounds constitutional concerns by eliminating the ability for a detained individual to obtain an independent, individualized review of his or her bond determination by a neutral decisionmaker. For these reasons--and there are others--I urge my colleagues to please oppose this dangerous, mean-spirited, and constitutionally suspect legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), a gentleman on the committee who has worked tirelessly with myself and Ms. Lofgren to make this measure more understandable.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer congratulations to Dr. John Edward Hasse on his retirement as Curator of Music at the National Museum of American History, a position he has served in since 1984. Dr. Hasse is a recognized leader in the field of jazz scholarship and education, distinguishing himself through publications, programming, lectures, and public service. Most notably, Dr. Hasse conceived and founded Jazz Appreciation Month, which was endorsed by the U.S. Congress in 2003. Today, Jazz Appreciation Month is celebrated each April in all 50 states and in over forty other countries. Dr. Hasse also worked with me to found the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the jazz-ensemble-in-residence at the National Museum of American History, now in its 26th year of domestic concerts and international tours for the U.S. State Department. In addition to his work at the Smithsonian, Dr. Hasse is an accomplished writer, contributing chapters to a number of books and articles in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, eight academic journals, and eight encyclopedias. He has lectured on music, the arts, and leadership in 20 countries on six continents, advancing cultural diplomacy, often on behalf of the U.S. State Department. He has served on a number of boards, including the federal New Orleans Jazz Commission, the board of the International Association for Jazz Education, and as a founding member of the Jazz Educators Network. He has been a consultant with the U.S. Postal Service, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and UNESCO. Dr. Hasse earned a B.A. cum laude from Carleton College, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Indiana University, and a Certificate in Business Administration from The Wharton School. His honors include appointment as Herb Alpert Scholar-in-Residence at the Berklee College of Music, two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards for excellence in writing about music, two Grammy Award nominations, and two honorary doctorates. Mr. Speaker, I offer my sincerest thanks to John for many years of friendship, and I know I speak for the entire Smithsonian Institute when I say Dr. Hasse will be sorely missed in his current capacity at the Smithsonian. However, if there is one thing I know about John, it is that he will never be far from the musical community he has fostered for the past few decades. We cannot thank him enough for the many years of service he has offered, and we look forward to seeing what the next stage of life holds for him.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Numerous consumer, labor, veterans, and legal groups all oppose H.R. 1215, including the AFL-CIO, the American College of Physicians, the Consumers Union, Public Citizen, Vietnam Veterans of America, 12 other national veterans organizations, and the Liberty Caucus. H.R. 1215 is an extremely flawed bill that will deny access to justice for victims of medical malpractice and especially those who are the most vulnerable among us. It would deny full compensation for injuries suffered by veterans and military families, children, the elderly, and the poor. I hope my colleagues will join us in opposing this very unnecessary, mean-spirited bill. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I refer my colleague, the floor leader on the other side to section 9 of the bill. We have just looked at it. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin), a distinguished member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just have to add here that H.R. 1215 deeply intrudes on States' sovereignty. In particular, H.R. 1215 preempts State law governing joint and several liability, the availability of damages, the ability to introduce evidence of collateral source benefits, attorneys' fees, and periodic payments of future damages. Members should not be fooled by assertions that the bill preserves State law. In fact, the rule of construction contained in the bill expressly states that it preempts State law, except in very limited circumstances where State law is more favorable to defendants. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch), a distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), a distinguished member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), the most active Member in the 115th Congress.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 1215 will do little to protect Americans' access to safe and affordable healthcare. Instead, it will deny victims of medical malpractice and defective medical products the opportunity to be fully compensated for their injuries and to hold wrongdoers accountable. This legislation imposes various restrictions on lawsuits against healthcare providers concerning the provision of healthcare goods or services that would apply regardless of the merits of the case, the misconduct at issue, or the severity of the victim's injury. There are so many problems with this bill, but to begin with, this bill would cause real harm by severely limiting the ability of victims to be made whole. For instance, the bill's $250,000 aggregate limit for noneconomic damages, an amount established more than 40 years ago pursuant to a California statute, would have a particularly adverse impact on women, children, the poor, and other vulnerable members of our society. These groups are more likely to receive noneconomic damages in healthcare cases because they are less able to establish lost wages and other economic losses. Women, for example, are often paid at a lower rate than men, even for the same job. Also, they are more likely to suffer noneconomic loss, such as disfigurement or loss of fertility. Imposing a severe limit on noneconomic damages, therefore, hurts them disproportionately. Finally, this bill is particularly harmful for veterans, members of the military, and their families. Because the bill prevents State tort law in any healthcare-related lawsuit that includes any coverage provided by a Federal health program, all cases arising from substandard care received in a Veterans Administration facility or a military hospital would be subject to the bill's restrictions. As a diverse coalition of veterans organizations noted in their letter of opposition, H.R. 1215 would limit the ability of veterans and military families to hold healthcare providers, drug manufacturers, and medical products providers accountable for pain and suffering and death that result from substandard care, preventable medical errors, and defective drugs and devices. For these and other reasons, I implore and urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 1215. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright).