1 Union Calendar No. 614 110th Congress, 2d Session – – – – – – – – – – – – House Report 110–941 REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DURING THE ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS PURSUANT TO CLAUSE 1(d) RULE XI OF THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2009.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 79–006 WASHINGTON : 2009 VerDate Nov 24 2008 08:06 Jan 16, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 E:\HR\OC\HR941.XXX HR941 cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with HEARING E:\Seals\Congress.#13 VerDate Nov 24 2008 08:06 Jan 16, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 E:\HR\OC\HR941.XXX HR941 cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with HEARING LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC, January 3, 2009. Hon. LORRAINE MILLER, Clerk, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. DEAR MS. MILLER: Pursuant to clause 1(d) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, I am transmitting the report on the activities of the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 110th Congress. Sincerely, JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Chairman. (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 08:06 Jan 16, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 7633 Sfmt 7633 E:\HR\OC\HR941.XXX HR941 cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with HEARING VerDate Nov 24 2008 08:06 Jan 16, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 7633 Sfmt 7633 E:\HR\OC\HR941.XXX HR941 cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with HEARING C O N T E N T S Page Jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary .................................................... 1 Tabulation of Legislation and Activity ................................................................... 3 Printed Hearings ..................................................................................................... 5 Committee Prints ..................................................................................................... 13 House Documents .................................................................................................... 13 Public Laws .............................................................................................................. 13 Conference Appointments ....................................................................................... 19 Summary of Activities of the Committee on the Judiciary .................................. 21 Antitrust Legislative Activities ....................................................................... 21 Antitrust Oversight Activities ......................................................................... 23 Committee Legislative Activities ..................................................................... 28 Committee Oversight ....................................................................................... 31 Investigation into U.S. Attorney Removals and the Politicization of the Department of Justice ..................................................................... 31 Hiring and Firing of U.S. Attorneys and other Department Per- sonnel ............................................................................................... 31 Allegations of Selective Prosecution ................................................. 35 Committee Hearings and Meetings on U.S. Attorney Removals and Politicization of the Department of Justice ........................... 38 Oversight Hearings of Executive Branch Agencies ................................ 42 Other Committee Oversight Hearings ..................................................... 44 SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW ........... 49 Legislative Activities ........................................................................................ 49 Administrative Law .................................................................................. 49 Bankruptcy ................................................................................................ 51 U.S. Attorneys Investigation .................................................................... 54 State Taxation Affecting Interstate Commerce ...................................... 55 Federal Arbitration Act ............................................................................. 58 Tort Reform Issues .................................................................................... 60 Claims Issues ............................................................................................. 62 Oversight Activities .......................................................................................... 62 Administrative Law, Process, and Procedure ......................................... 62 Bankruptcy ................................................................................................ 66 Privacy ........................................................................................................ 76 Arbitration ................................................................................................. 79 State Taxation Affecting Interstate Commerce ...................................... 81 Product Liability ........................................................................................ 82 Department of Justice Matters ................................................................ 83 SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION, CIVIL RIGHTS, and CIVIL LIBERTIES ........................................................................................................... 91 Legislative Activities ........................................................................................ 91 Oversight Activities .......................................................................................... 114 Health Consequences of the Attacks of September 11, 2001 ................. 123 Law Enforcement Practices and Accountability ..................................... 124 Civil Rights Enforcement .......................................................................... 126 SUBCOMMITTEE ON COURTS, THE INTERNET, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ........................................................................................................... 133 Legislative Activities ........................................................................................ 134 Courts ......................................................................................................... 134 Copyright ................................................................................................... 139 Patents and Trademarks .......................................................................... 145 Oversight Activities .......................................................................................... 147 The Federal Judicial System .................................................................... 147 The U.S. Copyright System ...................................................................... 147 (V) VerDate Nov 24 2008 08:06 Jan 16, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\HR941.XXX HR941 cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with HEARING VI Page SUBCOMMITTEE ON COURTS, THE INTERNET, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY—Continued Oversight Activities—Continued The U.S. Patent and Trademark Systems .............................................. 148 List of oversight hearings ......................................................................... 149 SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME, TERRORISM, AND HOMELAND SECU- RITY ...................................................................................................................... 157 Legislative Activities ........................................................................................ 157 Oversight Activities .......................................................................................... 188 SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP, REFUGEES, BOR- DER SECURITY, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW ............................................. 201 Legislative Activities ........................................................................................ 202 Oversight Activities .......................................................................................... 204 Letters ........................................................................................................ 234 GAO Requests ............................................................................................ 239 VerDate Nov 24 2008 08:06 Jan 16, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\HR941.XXX HR941 cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with HEARING Union Calendar No. 614 110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 110–941 REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY JANUARY 3, 2009.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. CONYERS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following R E P O R T Jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary The jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary is set forth in Rule X, 1.(k) of the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 110th Congress: RULE X—ORGANIZATION OF COMMITTEES COMMITTEES AND THEIR LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTIONS 1. There shall be in the House the following standing commit- tees, each of which shall have the jurisdiction and related functions assigned by this clause and clauses 2, 3, and 4. All bills, resolu- tions, and other matters relating to subjects within the jurisdiction of the standing committees listed