After a week filled with hearings on the Voting Rights Act and the federal government’s use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Aact, the House Judiciary Committee is now focusing back on immigration, while also turning its attention to anti-regulatory issues and the role of copyright in the United States.
Today at 2 pm, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security is holding a hearing on the Republican “DREAM” Act, also known as the “KIDS” Act, to address the immigration status of illegal immigrants brought to America as children. While no legislation has been introduced by the Majority, much has been written about their efforts to present their own version of “DREAMer” legislation.
Immigration has become an issue of growing national relevance over the past several years, and, as illustrated by the weeks spent on markups of the legislation earlier this month, is on the front-burner of the Congressional agenda. Though reforming our broken immigration system remains a divisive issue, this hearing will help explore the viewpoints and concerns surrounding the significant population of illegal immigrants that have been in the United States since a young age.
To discuss the array of perspectives on this issue, the hearing will consist of two panels made up of Congressmen and witnesses from a range of organizations that focus on immigration legislation. The first set of panelists include: Congressman Mike Coffman, Congressman Jeff Denham, Congressman Cory Gardner, and Congressman Luis Guiterrez. The second panel consists of: Dr. Barrett Duke from The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ms. Margie McHugh with the Migration Policy Institute, Ms. Pamela Rivera, a resident of Washington, D.C., and Ms. Rosa Velaquez of the Arkansas Coalition for DREAM.
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Next up, on Wednesday the Judiciary Committee will turn its focus to legislation allowing for cellphone unlocking and anti-regulatory legislation. At 10 am, there will be a Full Committee Markup of H.R. 1123, the "Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act"; H.R. 1493, the "Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2013"; H.R. 2122, the "Regulatory Accountability Act of 2013"; H.R. 2542, the "Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Acts of 2013"; H.R. 2641, the "Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act of 2013"; and H.R. 2655, the "Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2013".
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To close the week, the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet will hold a hearing on innovation in America, specifically focusing on the role of copyright reform, this Thursday at 9:30 am. We will keep this updated as the list of witnesses becomes available.
Be sure to follow @HouseJudDems for live-tweets from the hearings and markup.
Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member, U.S. House Judiciary Committee
