John Conyers

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John Conyers, Jr.
John Conyers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 14th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 4, 1965–
Preceded by Dennis Hertel
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born May 16, 1929 (age 77)
Highland Park, Michigan
Political party Democratic
Spouse Monica Conyers
Religion Baptist

John Conyers, Jr. (born May 16, 1929) is a U.S. Congressman from Michigan, representing that state's 14th District (map), which includes all of Highland Park and Hamtramck, as well as parts of Detroit and Dearborn. A Democrat, he has served since 1965 (the district was numbered as the 1st District until 1993). In January 2007, Conyers became chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in the 110th United States Congress.

Contents

[edit] Biographical information

Conyers served in the Michigan National Guard 1948-50; US Army 1950-54; and the US Army Reserves 1954-57. Conyers served for a year in Korea as an officer in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and was awarded combat and merit citations. [1].

Conyers grew up in Detroit, and received both his B.A. and his J.D. from Wayne State University. He served as an assistant to Congressman John Dingell prior to his election to Congress. He has been reelected 20 times, never facing serious opposition. He is the second-longest serving current member of the House, as well as the second-longest serving member of either house of Congress in Michigan's history. Only Dingell outranks him on both lists. He is the last surviving member of the Democrats' large freshman class of 1964.

Conyers is one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and is considered the Dean of that group. Formed in 1969, the CBC was founded to strengthen African-American lawmakers' ability to address the legislative concerns of Black and minority citizens. He has served longer in Congress than any other African-American. In 1971, he was one of the original members of Nixon's Enemies List.

According to the National Journal, Conyers has been considered, with Pete Stark, to be one of the most liberal members of Congress for many years. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks served on Conyers' staff between 1965 and 1988.

Conyers is known as one of the supporters of the drive to regulate online gambling. He has likened the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, hidden within the SAFE Port Act, to Prohibition.

He appeared in Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 discussing the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, stating that members of Congress "don't read most of the bills".

Conyers frequently posts at Daily Kos and Democratic Underground. Since May 2005, he's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post and his own blog.

[edit] Political Information

[edit] Downing Street memo

On May 5, 2005, Conyers and 88 other members of Congress wrote an open letter to the White House inquiring about the Downing street memo, a leaked memorandum that revealed an apparent secret agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom to attack Iraq in 2002. The Times, a British national newspaper, reported that newly-discovered documents reveal British and U.S. intentions to invade Iraq and leaders of the two countries had "discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so". The documents go on to say that Tony Blair decided the U.S. would need to "create" conditions to justify the war.

The memo story broke in the United Kingdom, but has not received much coverage in the United States, prompting Conyers to lament: "This should not be allowed to fall down the memory hole during wall-to-wall coverage of the Michael Jackson trial and a runaway bride."

CNN picked up the story on May 12. Fox News had a story about two weeks later on June 1.

Conyers and others reportedly considering sending a congressional investigation delegation to London. [2]

[edit] What Went Wrong In Ohio

In May, 2005, Conyers released What Went Wrong In Ohio: The Conyers Report On The 2004 Presidential Election, which discusses the voting irregularities in the state of Ohio during the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election. The evidence offered of wrongdoing consists of statistical abnormalities in the differences between exit poll results and actual votes registered at those locations. The book also discusses reports of faulty electronic voting machines and the lack of credibility of those machines used to tally votes.

[edit] The Constitution in Crisis

On August 4th, 2006, Conyers released the final draft of his report The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retributions and Cover-ups in the Iraq War, an edited collection of information intending to serve as evidence that the Bush Administration altered intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.

The Constitution in Crisis examines much of the evidence presented by the Bush Administration prior to the invasion and questions the credibility of their sources of intelligence. Additionally, the document investigates the conditions which led to the torture scandal in Abu Ghraib as well as further evidence of torture having been committed, but not made known to the public. Finally, the document reports on a series of 'smear tactics' purported to be used by the administration in dealing with its adversaries.

The document calls for the censure of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

[edit] Ban bigotry against Islam

Conyers has proposed House Resolution 288, which condemns “religious intolerance” but emphasizes on Islam as needing special protection from acts of violence and intolerance. It states that “it should never be official policy of the United States Government to disparage the Quran, Islam, or any religion in any way, shape, or form,” and “calls upon local, State, and Federal authorities to work to prevent bias-motivated crimes and acts against all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith.” The bill was referred to the House subcommittee on the Constitution in June 2005, but Conyers, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, could revive it.

[edit] Ethics controversy

In letters sent separately to the House Ethics Committee, the FBI, and the US Attorney's office by two former aides of Conyers, they alleged that Conyers repeatedly violated House ethics rules. The aides allege that Conyers used his staff to work on several local and state campaigns and forced them to baby-sit and chauffeur his children [1]. In late December 2006, Conyers "accepted responsibility" for possibly violating House rules. A statement issued December 29, 2006 by the House Ethics Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and Ranking Minority Member Howard Berman (D-Calif.), said that Conyers acknowledged what he characterized as a "lack of clarity" in his communications with staff members regarding their official duties and responsibilities, and accepted responsibility for his actions. In deciding to drop the matter, Hastings and Berman state: After reviewing the information gathered during the inquiry, and in light of Representative Conyers’ cooperation with the inquiry, we have concluded that this matter should be resolved through the issuance of this public statement and the agreement by Representative Conyers to take a number of additional, significant steps to ensure that his office complies with all rules and standards regarding campaign and personal work by congressional staff. [3].

[edit] Conyers v. Bush

See also Conyers v. Bush

In April 2006 Conyers, together with ten other senior congressmen, filed an action in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, challenging the constitutionality of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. In simple terms the complaint alleged the bill was not afforded due consideration by the United States Congress before being signed by the President[4]. The action was subsequently dismissed on grounds of lack of standing[5].

[edit] Trivia

  • He was #13 on President Richard Nixon's enemies list during Nixon's 1969-1974 presidential tenure. The president's Chief Counsel described him as "coming on fast" and that he was "emerging" as a "black anti-Nixon spokesman" who also had a "weakness" for white women.
  • Conyers is the last remaining member of the House Judiciary Committee who had voted on the Articles of Impeachment against Nixon in July 1974. Two other members then serving on the Committee are still serving in Congress: Representative Charles Rangel (Democrat of New York) and Senator Trent Lott (Republican of Mississippi).
  • After Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in 1968, Rep. John Conyers introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national holiday.
  • Conyers was featured in a famous scene in the 2004 hit motion picture documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. In the scene, which discusses the Patriot Act, Conyers tells director Michael Moore that the Congress "doesn't read most of the bills."


[edit] References

  1. ^ One of Michigans finest, John Conyers!
  2. ^ Blair faces US probe over secret Iraq invasion plan
  3. ^ Conyers accepts responsibility for possible ethics violations
  4. ^ The DRA One Year Later: Dems Waiting for Outcome of Legal Challenges to Law That Stiffens Medicaid Transfer Penaltiesfrom ElderLawAnswers.com, 10 February 2007
  5. ^ Associated Press. "Judge Dismisses Budget Bill Lawsuit", ABC News, 2006-11-06. Retrieved on 2006-11-28.


[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Lucien Nedzi		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 1st congressional district
1965–1993		 Succeeded by
Bart Stupak
Preceded by
Dennis Hertel		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 14th congressional district
1993–Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Michigan's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators: Carl Levin (D), Debbie Stabenow (D)

Representative(s): Bart Stupak (D), Pete Hoekstra (R), Vern Ehlers (R), David Lee Camp (R), Dale Kildee (D), Fred Upton (R), Tim Walberg (R), Mike J. Rogers (R), Joe Knollenberg (R), Candice Miller (R), Thad McCotter (R), Sander Levin (D), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D), John Conyers (D), John Dingell (D)

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