From today’s The Hill:
The Republican-controlled House Oversight and Accountability Committee has disbanded the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which focused on issues including voting rights, freedom of assembly and criminal justice reform policies.
In a committee meeting on Tuesday, Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said this doesn’t mean topics related to these issues can’t be brought before the committee.
“Let me be very clear: any topic that’s not mentioned in the subcommittee jurisdiction is reserved for the full committee,” Comer said. “We can have a committee hearing in this committee on basically anything we want.”
A spokesperson for the panel told The Hill that “Oversight Republicans are realigning subcommittees to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and all its agencies. Going forward, subcommittees will now be better equipped to meet our mission, identify problems, and propose meaningful legislative reforms for the American people.”
But Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) is urging the committee to reinstate the subcommittee, saying that the loss of it sends an “unmistakable message to the American people that their civil rights and civil liberties are no longer a priority to the 118th Congress.”
Crockett, a civil rights attorney, said she was appointed to the Oversight Committee on Friday, when she heard the news that the subcommittee had been removed.
In a statement, Crockett called the decision “reckless and cruel.”
“Rather than squandering their authority on investigations of the President’s family, the Chairman and House Republicans should use their authority to conduct oversight and investigate the merciless murders of innocent Americans – mainly Americans who look like me – at the hands of law enforcement,” Crockett said.
Read the complete story here.