Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Demand Assistance for Flint Recovery in GOP Funding Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – CBC Chairman G. K. Butterfield (D-NC), Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), and Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) issued the following response to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) regarding the Republican spending bill:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conuers, Jr.

“Flint’s citizens have suffered unacceptable damage and continue to suffer because Republicans are more interested in providing lip service than they are resources,” said Congressman Conyers. “Water is a basic human right and it’s shameful that many Flint residents are stuck with using water bottles to bathe, cook, drink and care for themselves and their families; some not having access to any clean water at all because they are homebound or cannot afford transportation. With funding for Flint omitted from the continuing resolution, it’s clear: minority and low-income communities are not even the slightest priority for our Republican-led Congress. We must ensure Flint’s water is made fully safe, its children and families made whole, and justice is served to those who stripped Flint’s citizens of the right to protect themselves.”

“The Congressional Black Caucus was early to call for immediate funding to assist in the recovery of the Flint, Michigan water crisis, and we are deeply concerned that such assistance is not included in the Republican’s bill to fund the government,” said CBC Chairman Butterfield. “Clean drinking water is a basic human right. Yet, since April 2014, tens of thousands of American children and families in Flint have been drinking and bathing in poisonous water –thousands of families have been harmed—and it is simply outrageous to think that Republicans have moved in a direction to not find a remedy for those who are most affected. Members of the CBC have been outspoken regarding Flint, we have traveled to the city where we met with families to hear their concerns, and we stand united in this effort to call upon our Republican colleagues to help these families recover. Flint still lacks safe water, and as elected officials, we all have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our constituents.”

“The people of Flint, Michigan have suffered enough,” said Congresswoman Lawrence. “A continuing resolution (CR) that fails to address the man-made crisis in Flint demonstrates our lack of commitment to helping the 100,000 citizens that have been poisoned by lead in their drinking water supply. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the right thing and include funding for the residents of Flint.”

Today, the CBC delivered this letter to House Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell further addressing concerns for the lack of funding for the City of Flint.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Demand Assistance for Flint Recovery in GOP Funding Bill Le... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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Senior House Judiciary Democrats, Quad Caucus Chairs Question Impact of New Restrictive Voting Laws

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

WASHINGTON- Today, senior Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and the chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) issued a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking the Department of Justice to review the impact of recently implemented voting restrictions across the country.

On March 22, Arizonians in Maricopa County, the most populous county in the state, experienced abnormally longer lines at polling stations.  Several allegations have also been made that there were disproportionate waiting times for minority voters. Department of Justice officials have opened an investigation into whether civil rights were violated.

In the letter, the Members request, “…that the Civil Rights Division review the impact of recently implemented voting restrictions on primary elections to determine whether the Department should implement additional monitoring programs in preparation for the November general election.”

The number of polling stations in Maricopa County, which is more than 40 percent minority, has been reduced by seventy percent, from 200 to 60 locations since the last presidential election in 2012.

“During the North Carolina primary election on March 15, voters waited for up to four hours at inner-city polling places to cast their votes. The number of provisional ballots cast last month in the North Carolina presidential primary was almost double the number of provisional ballots cast in 2012,” said the lawmakers. “These are warning signs that we cannot, and should not, ignore. These incidents raise serious constitutional concerns under both the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fifteenth Amendment.”

After the Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder removed the preclearance requirement of Section V of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, there has been an increase in the number of restrictive voting laws. The Brennan Center for Justice reports that, since 2010, twenty-one states have passed restrictive voting laws. The enforcement of many of these laws disproportionately impacts low-income, minority, student, and elderly voters.

The letter, spearheaded by House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), is signed by Ranking Member on the Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee Steve Cohen (D-TN); Ranking Member on the Crime Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX); Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus; Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. Linda Sánchez(D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; and Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

U.S. House Congressional Letter to DOJ Regarding Impact of New Restrictive Voter Laws Nationwide Elections

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Rep. Lawrence to host press conference regarding the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing on Flint’s water crisis

TODAY, February 3, 2016, 2 p.m.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14) will host a press conference today following the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing regarding the Flint water crisis. She will be joined by Reps. Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; G.K. Butterfield, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Keith Ellison and Raul Grijalva, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Dan Kildee, who represents the Flint community; and many more Members committed to ensuring a crisis of this magnitude never occurs again in America.

WHAT:

Press Conference re: OGR hearing on the Flint water crisis.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD-07), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform;

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (NC-01), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus;

Rep. Keith Ellison (MN-5), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus;

Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus;

Rep. Dan Kildee (MI-05), Congressional Representative for Flint, Michigan;

Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Ranking Member of OGR Subcommittee on the Interior and host;

Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee

WHEN:TODAY, February 3^rd, 2016 at 2 p.m.

WHERE:Capitol Visitor Center studios, HVC 114, House Studio A.

RSVP: Tracy.Manzer@mail.house.gov

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