John Conyers

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Thank you.

Mr. CONYERS. I thank the gentleman for his kind references. I ask unanimous consent to include any other materials in the body of our discourse today.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I was inadvertently detained today and regret missing the vote on House Resolution 1335. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted ``yea''.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to make express my gratitude for my fellow jazz enthusiast and Detroiter, Ed Love. For more than 24 years, Ed Love has delighted listeners with Destination Jazz: The Ed Love Program on weekdays from 7 pm to midnight on WDET 101.9FM. Ed's passion for jazz and radio extends all the way back to his youth in Kansas, when he was an avid listener of his mother's records and hosts like Dick Martin of WWL in New Orleans. After graduating from broadcasting school, Ed worked for Armed Forces Radio in several states and in the Philippines. Starting in 1960, he worked at various stations throughout Detroit until joining WDET in 1983. Ed has not only entertained Detroit radio listeners throughout his impressive career, but also spent six years hosting a nationally syndicated program entitled ``The Evolution of Jazz,'' educating and entertaining listeners on 125 stations from coast to coast. Ed was honored for his contribution to the world of jazz with the ``Distinguished Achievement Award'' from the Motor City Music Foundation. Ed was recognized by the Friends of the Detroit Institute of Arts with the ``Dr. Alian Locke Award'' in 1999 for his contributions to the arts. He's earned two ``Spirit of Detroit Awards'' from Detroit Mayors Coleman A. Young and Dennis W. Archer. The Michigan House of Representatives, the Michigan Senate, the Congressional Black Caucus and the National Broadcast Awards have all recognized him for his profound knowledge and love of jazz. The Southeast Michigan Jazz Association (SEMJA) recognized Ed for his outstanding contribution to jazz and the arts. In 2005, Ed received the ``Detroit Jazz Guardian'' Award from the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts and the Detroit International Jazz Festival. Ed was also honored in 2005 with the ``Distinguished Arts Achievement'' award from the Oakland County chapter of The Links. He has also served as the senior program consultant for the Detroit International Jazz Festival since 2000. In the wake of the collapse of the International Association of Jazz Educators, Ed Love and other jazz advocates will be even more important in the preservation of one of our nation's treasures and original art forms, jazz. I know that as long as jazz has stewards like Ed Love, we can be assured that it will be taught and will thrive the future. Through his work, Ed Love has and will continue to inspire generations of performers, educators, and students for years to come.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the memory and accomplishments of Gene Upshaw, a tremendous athlete and upstanding individual who had a successful career both on and off the football field. During his 16-year career as a National Football League player, he was an 11-time All-Pro offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987, his first year of eligibility. He played in 217 league games and appeared in six Pro Bowls. He was named Lineman of the Year in the AFC in 1973 and 1974. In 1977, he was voted top lineman in the NFL, and runner-up for that honor in 1980. Upshaw is the only player in NFL history to play with the same team in three Super Bowls in three different decades--in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Not only did Upshaw have an outstanding career on the field, but he also had a distinguished career off the field serving 38 years with the NFL Players Association. Upshaw worked as a player representative and officer for 13 years. He served as alternate representative or player representative for the Raiders from 1970 to 1976 and was a member of the executive committee from 1976 through 1980 when he was elected president of the NFLPA, a post he held until 1983. Upshaw served as Executive Director of the NFLPA from June 1983 up until his death on August 20, 2008. As the first African-American labor leader in a major sport, Upshaw was a forceful advocate on behalf of professional football players. During his tenure, Upshaw skillfully negotiated several collective bargaining agreements and extensions that have been credited with enhancing the rights and compensation of NFL players. Upshaw's career was best summed up by his close friend Art Shell, who played next to him on Oakland's offensive line and in 1989 became the first African-American coach of the modern era when he took over the Raiders. ``Gene was a true pioneer as one of the few African-American leaders of a major union. He was the equal of owners in negotiations and made the league a better place for all players. Playing alongside of Gene was an honor and a privilege. He was a pillar of strength and leadership for our great Raider teams.'' I extend my heartfelt condolences and prayers to his wife, Terri, his three sons, Justin, Daniel, and Eugene, Jr., and the entire National Football League community.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act of 2008, legislation that would preserve the intellectual property rights of our Nation's researchers and scientists. Specifically, the bill would prevent the Federal Government from requiring the transfer of intellectual property rights from researchers expressly in cases where there are non-federal financial or other contributions made toward the advancement or dissemination of science. Representatives Darrell Issa, Robert Wexler and Tom Feeney join me in this important effort to preserve intellectual property rights while furthering the national goal of advancing science and innovation. This legislation is necessary to respond to a dramatic policy change which was instituted in April of this year at the National Institutes of Health, without adequate Congressional consideration of the impacts of those changes on the intellectual property system, innovation, the peer review system, or our international obligations. In fact, this change in policy--from voluntary to mandatory submission of copyrighted materials--could severely impact important negotiations with our international trading partners. Already we are hearing reports, in conversations at the World Health Organization and in other international forums, the new National Institutes of Health policy to limit the exercise of copyright by authors and owners is being taken as a sign that the United States is shifting its position away from being a strong proponent of intellectual property rights and enforcement. Interest groups are using this example not only to promote a relaxation of copyright protections, but also to advocate for international diminution in strong patent policy. The legislation that we have introduced today would restore intellectual property protections for scientists, researchers, and publishers until a more thorough analysis of the access issues and a determination of an appropriate policy can be performed by the Register of Copyrights in consultation with economic experts. Our intent is that no harm should be done to the peer review system-- a system that has been in place for over a hundred years and is the gatekeeper winnowing out great science from careless science or even fraudulent ``research'' results. We intend to ensure that the intellectual property protections currently in place, which provide important incentives for the private sector to make significant I investments in research, are carefully considered before any policy change is enforced or proliferates in this area. This legislative effort is supported by scientific societies, large and small publishers, and for profit and non-profit entities. It is an inportant and necessary step in the fight to maintain our competitive edge in a global marketplace. Copyright protections provide the incentive to ensure that publishers invest in the peer review process, thus ensuring that science is adequately vetted prior to being distributed to the public.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 344 today and applaud the Congress for finally recognizing the serious human, economic, and moral impact the global food crisis has had on the world community. In particular, I want to recognize the author of this bill, the Gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee, for her continuing advocacy on behalf of the many millions of hungry people around the world; people whose stories often go untold in our public debate. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the course of action proposed in this resolution. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon should immediately convene a taskforce, composed of the heads of the United Nations aid agencies and the World Bank, to both address this growing crisis and close the $755,000,000 funding gap for the World Food Programme. The 850,000,000 chronically or acutely malnourished human beings living on this planet demand nothing less. If anything, the heavy toll borne by Haiti and other Caribbean nations during this hurricane season has only added to the urgency of holding such a meeting. Unless the world community crafts a serious, comprehensive aid plan that can be deployed in a quick and effective manner, the lack of access to clean water and food in these nations will lead to an untold and unacceptable loss of human life. I also want to remind my colleagues that the global food price surge is hitting Americans here at home. According to the Department of Labor, prices for staples such as bread, milk, eggs, and flour are rising sharply, surging in the past year at double-digit rates. Milk prices, for example, increased 26 percent over the year. Egg prices jumped 40 percent. Chronic hunger and malnourishment are ailments that affect more than just the citizens of third-world foreign locales; they affect our neighbors, our children, and our parents. In the long-term, our country must confront our contribution to this crisis. Although we have little control over sky-rocketing oil prices, we have the power to re-evaluate and improve our agricultural policy in ways that will ease the pain at the register for food consumers, both here and abroad. In particular, slashing some farm subsidies and ending de facto price controls that mainly benefit massive corporate farms would go along way towards lowering food prices. Our country can only afford to pay our farmers not to produce when prices are low and food is ample. In times like these, such subsidies may be a luxury we cannot afford. In the meantime, I encourage the Congress to speak with one voice and endorse the multilateral engagement proposed in this resolution. While It alone wIll not solve this complex problem, it is a necessary and needed component of a successful and comprehensive strategy.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, on September 8, 2008, I was called away on personal business. I regret that I was not present to vote on S. 2403, S. 2837, and S. 2135. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on all votes.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise to voice my strong support for H.R. 2851, Michelle's Law. This important legislation amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from terminating coverage of a dependent child due to a medically necessary leave of absence from a postsecondary education institution. Madam Speaker, few Americans can simply write a check to cover the cost of attending college. The average college student graduates with alarming amounts of debt, in fact, most undergraduate students graduate with close to $20,000 in student loan debt. I find it unconscionable that, in a time of worsening financial burdens, we would also place the burden of costs associated with unexpected illness on the lives of our young students. According to Harvard Medical School, the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States is due to unpaid medical bills, most of which were filed while the individual or family had health insurance. My bill, H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act, creates a health care system where there is no such thing as medical debt, problems with credit, or filing for bankruptcy because of unpaid medical bills. Under H.R. 676, financial insecurity from fear of indebtedness from medical expenses will cease to exist. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that every human being requires four things to lead a happy and productive life: shelter, employment, education, and health. When a person has access to the aforementioned four requirements, a fifth, justice, holds them all together. When a student loses full-time status because of an illness and access to healthcare, a home and education become more difficult to maintain. However, with Michelle's Law, we can provide justice to college students and help them retain access to care so they can work towards the American dream. Madam Speaker, instead of making it more difficult for the young men and women of our nation to achieve higher education, we should be doing everything in our power to facilitate completion of their courses of study, especially when faced with hardships such as debilitating physical or mental illness. Please pass Michelle's Law, and help ensure that there is one less impediment to education and healthcare for our nation's hardworking college students.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, today I rise in strong support of the conference report agreed to by House and Senate negotiators on H.R. 4040, ``The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.'' The final version of this Act will institute long-needed reforms to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, require toys and infant products to be tested before they are sold, ban lead and 6 toxins categorized as ``phthalates'' in children's toys, and provide other critical safety improvements. This bipartisan and bicameral compromise dramatically improves the House version of the bill and adopts the vast majority of the provisions found in the much stronger Senate bill. Such robust provisions are a prudent response to the regulatory embarrassment our nation suffered in 2007, when almost 30 million toys and 15 million child products were recalled because of safety concerns. By acting today, we will ensure that our nation's mothers and fathers will never have to suffer through another year filled with such terror and uncertainty. I have long been a supporter of strengthening the Consumer Product Safety Commission, so that it can finally serve as the first line of citizen product safety defense. Over the past three months, I have joined with a coalition of my fellow Members on two separate occasions to advocate for the strong consumer protection provisions included in this legislation. After today, the Consumer Product Safety Commission will cease to exist as a ghost regulator; starved of the resources, authority, and transparency that an effective regulator needs. With this bill, this long-running frustration of Congressional intent will finally end. A vote for this conference report is a vote for industry accountability, regulatory integrity, and most importantly, child safety. I encourage my colleagues to support this conference report.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 3370) to resolve pending claims against Libya by United States nationals, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 1338, ``The Paycheck Fairness Act.'' This legislation will help our Nation take the final steps in its long journey towards ensuring that men and women receive equal pay for equal work. The Congress first committed itself to remedying the scourge of pay discrimination in 1963, when it passed the Equal Pay Act. At that time, full-time working women were paid on average 59 cents on the dollar earned by their male counterparts. In the ensuring 43 years, the wage gap between men and women has narrowed. In 2008, women earn about 77 percent of what men earn. While this is a dramatic improvement, the 23 cent gap that exists still exemplifies that gender discrimination is a real and contemporary problem in our labor market. H.R. 1338 would attack this problem in a comprehensive manner. It builds on many of the innovative policies found in the original EPA and adds provisions specifically crafted to address the realities of 21st century offices. H.R. 1338 will: Strengthen the EPA by making it unlawful for an employer to pay unequal wages to men and women who have substantially similar jobs that are performed under similar working conditions within the same physical location of business. Under the original EPA, employers can justify unequal pay if it is based on: Seniority; merit; quality or quantity of production; or ``any factor other than sex.'' This legislation clarifies the ``any factor other than sex'' defense, so that an employer trying to justify paying a man more than a woman for the same job must show that the disparity is not sex-based, is job related, and is necessary for the business; Prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who discuss or disclose salary information with their co-workers. However, employees such as HR personnel who have access to payroll information as part of their job would not be protected if they disclose the salaries of other workers; Strengthen the remedies available to include punitive and compensatory damages. Under the EPA currently, plaintiffs can only recover back pay and in some cases double back pay. The damages would not be capped; Require the Department of Labor to improve outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities; Enhance the collection of information on women's and men's wages in order to more fully explore the reasons for gender-based wage gap and to assist employers in their efforts to rectify pay disparities; and Create a new grant program to help strengthen the negotiation skills of girls and women. Mr. Chairman, I was shocked when I heard last year about the case of Lilly Ledbetter, the Goodyear Tire plant employee who suffered from pay discrimination for nearly two decades. After learning that she had been victimized by her employer, she brought an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against Goodyear. Unfortunately, a majority of our anti-worker, pro-corporate Supreme Court denied her claim, ruling that employees can only file a wage-discrimination complaint within 180 days of a discriminatory payroll decision. Ms. Ledbetter, a clear victim of discrimination, was left without recourse in a country founded on a respect for the rule of law. For this, we should be ashamed. Mr. Chairman, I believe that our courts are our last line of defense when it comes to protecting the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution and in our civil rights laws. With our marketplace and court systems unwilling to correct obvious injustices, we need a legislative solution that will ensure that the universal values of fairness, respect, and decency continue to be a part of the American workplace. To this end, I urge my colleagues to step up for ``equal pay for equal work'' and pass H.R. 1388.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 1338, including corrections in spelling, punctuation, section and title, numbering, cross-referencing, conforming amendments to the table of contents and short titles, and the insertion of appropriate headings.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 194) apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans, as amended.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 194, which is bipartisan legislation apologizing for the enslavement and the continued racial segregation of African Americans. For numerous Congresses past, similar resolutions have been introduced, but none have made it to the floor for consideration by the full House. So I salute my colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee, a member of the Judiciary Committee, the Honorable Steve Cohen, for his leadership and indefatigable energy in bringing us to this point in support of this resolution which he has created. While much progress has been made since the civil rights era, the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow is still at the root of many critical issues facing the African American community today; educational opportunities, health care access, business capital, they are still victimized by crime, and many other socioeconomic considerations. Our friend the former President, Bill Clinton, expressed his regrets over the Nation's role in the slave trade. The current President, George W. Bush, described it as ``one of the greatest crimes of history.'' A number of States, Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey, have made moving apologies in their own ways. Now, with an official United States Government apology before us, this measure will take us another step forward toward the national healing, atonement and continued progress that must be made along these lines. The discussion of race is a sensitive, difficult issue even today in our society. And, of course, the apology is not the end of the story, but it does reaffirm our national commitment to understanding and addressing, in the words of the resolution, how to rectify the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African Americans under slavery and Jim Crow and to stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the future. So I am proud to join the many Members on both sides of the aisle that have helped us bring this suspension forward today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I yield such time as he may consume to the author of the measure before us, the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1357) recognizing the significance of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan and the greatness of America in her ability to admit and remedy past mistakes, as amended.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material.

Mr. CONYERS. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Born of war hysteria and racial prejudice, Executive Order 9066 would come to represent a stain on America's reputation for fairness and justice. 128,000 Japanese Americans were ordered to leave behind their entire lives and property and bring only the bare necessities to an unknown place with an unknown future, and they spent 3 long years in internment camps in Arizona, Northern and Central California, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Arkansas. At the conclusion of World War II, they attempted to return home, but many found that their houses were looted and destroyed. They could not find jobs to feed and shelter their property. And, sadly, it took our government nearly 50 years to formally apologize for this serious Constitutional mistake and offer compensation to those who suffered through internment. On February 19, 1976, President Ford rescinded Executive Order 9066. On July 21, 1980, Congress established the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to investigate the internment of World War II. A few years later the Commission reported its finding and recommendations, and on August 10, 1988, the Civil Liberties Act was signed into law authorizing reparations to each person wrongfully interned. Although there is hardly anything that can replace 3 years lost to internment, an official apology and compensation provided some solace to those who suffered, and helped heal a Nation stained by this terrible mistake made during the Second World War. One of the leaders in that effort was the late Robert Matsui of California. And so it is today that this resolution introduced by his widow, Doris Matsui, we have come to recognize the significance of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act and how America came to admit and remedy past mistakes. Let's hope that will help the Nation remember this mistake and to prevent similar occurrences like that from happening in the future. We remember others who suffered similar internment or forced deportation in exchange for United States citizens held by axis countries. In its review, the commission also found our government financed relocation to the United States and internment of 2,300 Latin Americans of Japanese descent for the purpose of exchanging Latin Americans of Japanese descent for United States citizens held by axis countries. I commend Xavier Becerra, our distinguished colleague from California, for working to bring this matter also before us today. In addition, serious allegations have been made that our government also interned German Americans and Italian Americans during World War II. Our distinguished colleague on Judiciary, Robert Wexler of Florida, has worked for years to bring to light this forgotten group of people who also suffered the plight of internment. This resolution also resolves that Congress will review these claims to determine whether they too should receive and be eligible for similar reparations and apology. I, of course, urge strongly the support of this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I now recognize the distinguished gentlelady from California, Doris Matsui, who has picked up the baton from her late husband, who formerly represented California from the same district, for as much time as she may consume.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to now recognize the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), who at the time was chairman of the Subcommittee on Judiciary that first reported out the measure that we consider today. I yield him as much time as he may consume.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the remainder of our time.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6083) to authorize funding for the National Advocacy Center, as amended.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.