The State of Civil and Human Rights in the United States Hearing Before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights Date: December 9, 2014 Time: 2:30 p.m. Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226 (room location is tentative; check Senate Judiciary Committee website to confirm – judiciary.senate.gov) Description: U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate’s Assistant Majority Leader and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights, will chair a hearing entitled “The State of Civil and Human Rights in the United States.” The hearing will assess progress in recent years and work that still needs to be done on key civil and human rights issues, including criminal justice reform, voting rights, hate crimes, and police militarization. Following enactment of legislation like the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 and the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, bipartisan efforts to protect civil and human rights have continued, including additional reforms to federal sentencing and restoration of federal voting rights for ex-offenders. Nonetheless, significant roadblocks remain. Many states have enacted voting laws making it harder for minority and other voters to cast their ballots. There has been a recent spate of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry and pervasive underreporting of hate crimes continues. Recent events in Ferguson, Missouri have highlighted the continued need to reform police practices, including the militarization of local law enforcement. This hearing will explore how Congress and the Executive Branch can build on recent successes and address ongoing civil and human rights challenges. Hearing Attendance: This hearing is open to the public. Please encourage advocates and interested members of the community to attend. A large audience filling both the hearing room and overflow room is critical to showing interest in this issue. For our planning purposes, please provide an estimate of the number of attendees from your organization by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 by filling out this form. If it is not feasible to estimate the number of attendees from your organization, please send the link to the form to members so that they may individually RSVP for the hearing. We ask that individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid or service please note the need for accommodations in the RSVP form and contact the Committee Clerk at (202) 224-7703 at least three business days in advance of the hearing date. Statements for the Record: Chairman Durbin invites advocates and stakeholders to offer their perspectives and experiences on these issues by submitting written testimony to be included in the hearing record. These statements help educate Committee members about these issues and are important to demonstrating community interest. Statements must be submitted as a PDF or Word Document of 10 pages or less, and should be emailed to [email protected] early as possible, but no later than Monday, December 8, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. Please note that the Subcommittee cannot accept previously published information, such as newspaper articles or reports, as a statement for the record. Senator Dick Durbin is Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights. The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over all constitutional issues, and all legislation and policy related to civil rights, civil liberties and human rights. The Ranking Member of the Subcommittee is Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). Rebecca Landy Human Rights Outreach Coordinator New York, NY Office: 646-762-9675 Cell: 917-509-4101 [email protected] @RebeccaEveLandy ushrnetwork.org
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 04:38:19 +0000
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