Justice & Court Reform
As the former chair and now ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, Congressman Johnson is the leading voice in the House on court reform -- particularly the Supreme Court. Even before the 6-3 right-wing supermajority took control of the court, Rep. Johnson proposed legislation to expand the Supreme Court (Judiciary Act); require that the justices follow a code of ethics, transparency, and recusal standards (SCERT Act); and establish term limits for justices (TERM Act). Rep. Johnson has also introduced legislation to ensure that employees of the federal judiciary have strong statutory rights and protections against discrimination and workplace misconduct (JAA).
For more on the Congressman’s work on court reform, please read below.
More on Justice & Court Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Rep.Johnson joined with House Democratic colleagues in signing a petition to force a vote on the bipartisan DREAM Act, which would provide a permanent solution to allow young undocumented immigrants brought here as children to remain in this country legally. If the petition is signed by a majority of members, the House would be forced to take a vote on this legislation. Rep. Johnson also called on Republicans to participate in this effort to force a vote.
One of those Democrats is U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson of Lithonia. One of Georgia's most liberal members of Congress, he said in an interview Wednesday that he would only be willing to consider beefed up border security in exchange for protections for Dreamers.
Trump "has had so many positions that it's hard to have confidence in the current one he has taken" on DACA, Johnson said. "At this point … with the agreement with President Trump to pursue a fix to the DACA program, it makes abundant sense for us to go ahead and move while the iron is hot."
One of the most critical Georgia lawmakers was Democrat Hank Johnson of Lithonia, who said the hack proved the need for Congress to pass two bills he sponsored earlier this year related to data privacy and forced arbitration.
"I will continue introducing these critical bills — fighting to ensure all consumers have the tools they need to protect themselves from identity theft and have their day in court," he said.
Democrats pounced on the last-minute timing with the stakes so high.
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, said that the repeal bill was "the worst piece of legislation that has come down the pipe yet." He said Congress would want to reauthorize the indigent hospital care and PeachCare programs. "Hopefully, Republicans in Congress can walk and chew bubble gum on that issue," he said.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the Equifax data breach of 143 million Americans' personal information, Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), David N. Cicilline (D-RI), and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) wrote to the three main credit rating agencies –Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian – to hear whether these companies will continue to include forced arbitration clauses in their terms of service or end their campaign against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's rule to restore consumers' day in court.
They wrote:
Contact: Andy Phelan (404) 593-9126
September 21, 2017
Washington, D.C.– Today, Rep. Johnson highlighted a new state-by-state report showing Republicans' latest Trumpcare legislation, which the Senate GOP hopes to rush to a vote next week, would be disastrous for Georgian's health care in 2027 alone.
Federal funding for health coverage would be cut by $299 billion in that year alone, relative to projected spending on the Medicaid expansion, marketplace subsidies and the Medicaid program (outside of the expansion).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, the House Caucus for Advancement of Studio, Talent and Film Diversity (CAST) will hold a panel discussion laying out the problem of diversity in media. Minorities are severely under-represented in the film industry and there is room for more faces that accurately represent our nation. It is important for our youth to have role models that they can relate and look up to, serving as inspirations for their future dreams whether to be actors/actresses, directors, or writers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) supports his fellow House Judiciary Committee Democratic members in walking out of a committee hearing today after Republicans, for the second time since July, used hardball tactics to cover up and protect President Donald Trump from Democratic attempts to force an investigation of his firing of former FBI Director James Comey:
Congressman Hank Johnson, an Atlanta-area Democrat, said in a statement that Trump sent a "clear and unambiguous message to his Steve Bannon-alt right supporters that they have a friend in the White House."