[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 641 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 641

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Committee on the Judiciary of 
                              the Senate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            December 10 (legislative day, December 9), 2016

 Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
Cornyn, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Franken, Mr. Coons, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. 
 Tillis) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
                               agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Committee on the Judiciary of 
                              the Senate.

Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate--

    (1) was established by a resolution adopted on December 10, 1816, as 
one of the original standing committees of the Senate; and

    (2) as of December 2016, is one of the original standing committees 
that remain;

Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate originally had 5 members;
Whereas, according to the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee on the 
        Judiciary of the Senate has jurisdiction over--

    (1) apportionment of Representatives;

    (2) bankruptcy, mutiny, espionage, and counterfeiting;

    (3) civil liberties;

    (4) amendments to the Constitution of the United States;

    (5) Federal courts and judges;

    (6) Government information;

    (7) holidays and celebrations;

    (8) immigration and naturalization;

    (9) interstate compacts, generally;

    (10) judicial proceedings, civil and criminal, generally;

    (11) local courts in territories and possessions;

    (12) measures relating to claims against the United States;

    (13) national penitentiaries;

    (14) the Patent Office;

    (15) patents, copyrights, and trademarks;

    (16) protection of trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and 
monopolies;

    (17) revision and codification of the laws of the United States; and

    (18) State and territorial boundary lines;

Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate has had 42 members who have 
        served as chairmen, and a total of 349 men and women representing 49 
        States have served on the Committee;
Whereas the first chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate was 
        Senator Dudley Chase of Vermont;
Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate is regularly the epicenter 
        of the most significant and controversial issues in the United States, 
        and is tasked with upholding fundamental rights and values for all 
        people of the United States;
Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate has shaped the physical 
        boundaries of the United States;
Whereas, during the Civil War, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
        helped ensure that President Abraham Lincoln had the emergency powers 
        necessary to pursue the war effort;
Whereas, in February 1864, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate reported 
        the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and took an 
        important step in ending slavery in the United States by voting 
        favorably on the language of the amendment, ``Neither slavery nor 
        involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the 
        party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
        States.'';
Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate played a vital role in the 
        development and adoption of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the 
        Constitution of the United States;
Whereas, in 1872, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate was on the 
        forefront of the women's suffrage movement;
Whereas, in 1937, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate blocked the 
        attempt by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to pack the Supreme Court of 
        the United States;
Whereas, before enactment, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (Public Law 85-315; 71 
        Stat. 634) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.) 
        were introduced and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
        Senate;
Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate considered and reported the 
        Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301);
Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate considers civil rights 
        legislation, including--

    (1) the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting 
Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (52 U.S.C. 10301 
note; Public Law 109-246); and

    (2) the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act 
(Public Law 111-84; 123 Stat. 2835);

Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate has advanced laws to 
        improve the criminal justice system, punish criminals, and protect 
        victims of crime and the innocent, including--

    (1) the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-473; 98 Stat. 
1987);

    (2) the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (Public 
Law 93-415; 88 Stat. 1109);

    (3) the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601 et seq.);

    (4) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et 
seq.);

    (5) the Justice for All Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-405; 118 Stat. 
2260);

    (6) the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-220; 124 Stat. 
2372); and

    (7) the Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007 
(Public Law 110-34; 121 Stat. 224);

Whereas, in 1990, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate reported S. 2754 
        of the 101st Congress, entitled the ``Violence Against Women Act of 
        1990'' and advanced S. 47 of the 113th Congress, which was enacted as 
        the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-
        4; 127 Stat. 54);
Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate--

    (1) has promoted government transparency;

    (2) reported the bill that was enacted as section 552 of title 5, 
United States Code (commonly known as the ``Freedom of Information Act''); 
and

    (3) has continued to improve that Act by passing legislation, including 
the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-185; 130 Stat. 538);

Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate is one of the busiest and 
        most productive committees of the Senate, and approximately \1/5\ of all 
        measures that are referred to committees of the Senate are referred to 
        the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate handles nominations, 
        including nominations for--

    (1) the Supreme Court of the United States;

    (2) the courts of appeals of the United States;

    (3) the district courts of the United States;

    (4) the Department of Justice;

    (5) the Attorney General;

    (6) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

    (7) United States Attorneys;

    (8) the United States Marshals Service; and

    (9) the United States Sentencing Commission;

Whereas the work of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate has contributed 
        to a more diverse Federal judiciary;
Whereas members of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate have been 
        elected President or Vice President or appointed to the Cabinet or the 
        Supreme Court of the United States;
Whereas Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts served on the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the Senate for 45 years from 1963 to 2009, the longest 
        period served on the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate by any 
        Senator; and
Whereas Senator James O. Eastland of Mississippi served as chairman of the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate for 22 years from 1956 to 1978, 
        and was the longest-serving chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary 
        of the Senate: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) celebrates and congratulates the Committee on the 
        Judiciary of the Senate on the celebration of its 200th 
        anniversary; and
            (2) applauds the many accomplishments of the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the Senate.
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