John Conyers

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), Chair of the Committee on Government Reform.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dooley).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I only wish that my friend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak) had brought this to the House Committee on the Judiciary where we could have had the kind of discussion that probably would have been more helpful. I hope that we do. This deserves a hearing. The subject is not going away, regardless of the outcome and disposition of the measure today. I must say, I am looking at a series of Supreme Court decisions that make two things clear. One, mandatory labeling will be viewed by the Court to constitute a system of unconstitutional prior restraints, the very type most disfavored under the first amendment, and I have three cases to cite. Secondly, the prior restraints, like mandatory labeling, are viewed as censorship and, as such, and a couple more Supreme Court cases, it will not work. I wish I could say something different. So I want to make sure that we appreciate the constitutional question and the impracticability of an amendment that would cost billions of dollars for the Federal Government to administer and would probably be pretty difficult to enforce. This proposal will create a fairly large size bureaucracy and enforce a labeling system for all audio and visual media products. It would create an agency that would be tasked with reviewing over 600 motion pictures every year, at least 500 videos and digital video disks that come into the marketplace, and thousands of sound recordings released each year. Believe me, this is not a subject matter that can be legislated from the floor of the House of Representatives in a committee setting. We need to refer this to the Committee on the Judiciary and any other appropriate committee, and then bring it forward. I would be delighted and I continue my commitment to work on a workable and effective resolution of the labeling problem in the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, this solution I cannot support.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, it is our decision not to offer the substitute amendment in order to complete business in a more expeditious manner. I am going to offer a motion to recommit instead. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to recommit be permitted to allow 10 minutes on each side in lieu of the substitute.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green). (Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I will first begin by thanking the Chair of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) for allowing us to move directly to a motion to recommit, instead of a substitute motion that I had which would have taken considerably longer. But my motion to recommit is every bit as important as the substitute would have been. It returns us to a commonsense approach to juvenile justice. Here is what it does. In addition to including the bipartisan Committee on the Judiciary and Committee on Education and the Workforce bill that have already been approved in those committees, my motion reauthorizes the COPS on the Beat program, authorizes funds for school resource officers, school safety programs, and after-school programs. It also provides for a study of the effects of media violence, and grants an antitrust immunity to permit the entertainment industry to set voluntary guidelines on violence. Unless my substitute is accepted, the House will have taken no action which allows members of the entertainment industry to work to develop these guidelines. Finally, unlike the McCollum amendment passed last night, my motion contains no gun-related provisions whatsoever. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

Mr. CONYERS. I yield to the gentlewoman from Missouri.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, that is exactly where I want to go from here. I want to legislate. I want to make laws. We do not make doughnuts; that is all we have here, and to me these hearings that we have already had provide a very important way for us to move forward.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak).

Mr. CONYERS

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

Mr. CONYERS. I do, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey). (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 20 seconds to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell). (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, may we get a reading on the time remaining on both sides?

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky). (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price). (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute and 45 seconds to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman), a member of the Committee on the Judiciary and doing a wonderful job. (Mr. ROTHMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy), one of the indefatigable Members of the House.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, what is the time situation on both sides?