Press Releases
Rep. Nadler Becomes Chairman of Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties for the 111th Congress
Washington, DC,
January 22, 2009
Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), was officially selected by his colleagues to resume his Chairmanship of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Rep. Nadler will also continue to serve on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, and on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, with positions on the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. This will be Rep. Nadler’s second term chairing the influential Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and he intends to focus on a number of critical issues, including: civil rights enforcement, fair housing, voting rights, women’s equality, hate crimes, LGBT rights, disabled rights, closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, ending torture, restoring civil liberties in general, and ensuring accountability for the Bush Administration’s abuses of power.
Rep. Nadler released the following statement upon reassuming the chairmanship: “I am extremely honored to again have the opportunity to serve as Chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. After two years in this role, I have had the privilege of convening the subcommittee to do the essential work of monitoring and safeguarding our Constitutional rights and liberties at a time when they have been under assault by the Executive Branch. With the end of President Bush’s Administration and the inauguration of President Obama, the outlook for civil rights and civil liberties is now phenomenally different. For this, I am extremely pleased and hopeful. I look forward to working with President Obama to reverse many of the destructive policies of the past eight years and to move forward into a brighter era of government responsibility and respect for the rule of law. I am thrilled by the possibility of advancing positive change by extending and expanding legal protections for the rights of all Americans. “We now need to ensure that no future president is able to trespass on our Constitution as we have witnessed in recent years, with abuses of executive power, torture of detainees, illegal wiretapping and rendition, among other alleged crimes. I intend to use the subcommittee to conduct oversight, discover truths, air them to the American people and enact meaningful legislation so that we won’t have to suffer the same abuses by future presidents. I furthermore intend to use the subcommittee this Congress to continue to bring attention and clarity to issues of individual rights which still pose problems for millions of Americans, including voting rights in Washington, DC, women’s rights, the rights of African-Americans and Latinos, LGBT rights, disabled rights, and many other important issues. “I want to thank Chairman Conyers for his formidable leadership these past two years, Chairman Oberstar for his excellence and vision, and all of my colleagues on both the Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees for their support.” |