The Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh1CERXLe44 Washington, D.C.— House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.), and House Judiciary Committee member and bill sponsor John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) praised today’s passage of the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA) of 2016 (H.R. 4768) by the House of Representatives by a vote of 240-171. “When the Framers created three equal branches of government, they did so in order to prevent one from taking power from the others.

Chairman Goodlatte: The need for the Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016 to restore balance in our federal system is clear. The modern federal administrative state is an institution unforeseen by the Framers of our Constitution and rapidly mushrooming out of control. This legislation takes square aim at one of the biggest roots of this problem – the Chevron doctrine, under which federal courts regularly defer to regulatory agencies’ self-serving and often politicized interpretations of the statutes they administer. This includes interpretations like those that underlie the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and Waters of the United States rules.

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee has announced its schedule for the week of July 11-15, 2016. TUESDAY, JULY 1210:00 a.m. | Full Committee Hearing on: Oversight of the Department of Justice Witness:

• The Honorable Loretta Lynch, Attorney General, U.S.

Washington, D.C.  – On Thursday, July 14, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice will hold a legislative hearing on S. 2040, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which recently passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support.  The hearing will examine the Senate approved version of JASTA, which would amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to allow victims of terrorism to seek judicial redress against countries that aid and abet terrorist attacks on U.S.

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 3765) by a bipartisan vote of 15-6. This bill, authored by House Judiciary Committee member Ted Poe (R-Texas), requires the Disability Rights Section of the Department of Justice to develop a program to educate state and local governments and property owners on strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for persons with a disability.

Chairman Goodlatte: It’s clear that our founders believed that the free expression of ideas was integral to the wellbeing of our nation. John Adams, in his writing on the importance of the press for example, states:

"Care has been taken that the art of printing should be encouraged, and that it should be easy and cheap and safe for any person to communicate his thoughts to the public. And you, Messieurs [Mr.] printers, whatever the tyrants of the earth may say of your paper, have done important service to your country by your readiness and freedom in publishing the speculations of the curious.

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee has announced its schedule for the week of June 20-24, 2016. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2210:00 a.m. | Full CommitteeHearing on: “Examining the Allegations of Misconduct Against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Part II” Witnesses:

• Jonathan Turley, Professor of Law, George Washington University
• Andrew McCarthy, Former Assistant U.S.