United States Representative John Conyers, Jr., a Detroit Democrat, was re-elected in November 2006 to his twenty-first term in the U. S. House of Representatives, winning 87 percent of the vote in Michigan's Fourteenth Congressional District. The district covers all of Highland Park and Hamtramck, as well as large portions of Detroit and Dearborn. In addition, due to recent Congressional redistricting, the Down River communities of Melvindale, Allen Park, Southgate, Riverview, Trenton, Gibraltar, and Grosse Ile Township are also part of the 14th District.

Congressman Conyers, a senior statesman in American political life, is respected and admired by colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Reserved and studious, he has quietly built a solid record of legislative achievement in his 42 years on the Capitol Hill. Mr. Conyers is the second most senior member of the House and serves as the Ranking Democrat on the pivotal House Judiciary Committee.

As Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Conyers has introduced and supported legislation to advance civil liberties, ensure equal protection and equal access to the voting booth and fight against violence against women. Since September 11th, it has been a constant struggle between keeping our country safe from terrorism and protecting the civil liberties of our citizens. Congressman Conyers has been aggressive in giving the Administration the proper law enforcement and intelligence authorities they need to prevent terrorism and while ensuring our civil liberties and civil rights are preserved in the process. During the 107th Congress he introduced the "Military Tribunal Authorization Act of 2002" which meets the responsibility of the Congress and exercises our constitutional authority to define and regulate the use of military tribunals. To fix problems in the FBI that recently have come to light, he introduced the "Federal Bureau of Investigation Reform Act of 2002" which would improve the agency's management structure and protect whistleblowers who report FBI wrongdoing.

Congressman Conyers is dedicated to improving the lives of the people of the 14th Congressional District. During 107th Congress, he secured an appropriation totaling over one million dollars for the Detroit Medical Center. Hutzel Hospital received $800,000 for general renovation; and the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan received an appropriation of $450,000. In addition, Rep. Conyers intervened to prevent abuse of women in Michigan prisons. He held a series of public meetings to hear testimony by both former inmates and staff on the sexual misconduct of male guards in Michigan's prisons. The public meetings and contact with the U.S. Department of Justice led to the creation of a policy in Michigan prisons that restricts male correctional officers from guarding women who reside in private quarters. Conyers also convened a job fair for ex-offenders in conjunction with the City of Detroit Employment Connection. This innovative partnership was established to reduce the recidivism rate among ex-offenders and to ensure that they have access to adequate employment once released from prison.

Congressman Conyers has made a career out of fighting for Michigan's working families. As a strong and consistent supporter of the UAW, Congressman Conyers is well aware of the struggles that affect working families. With families facing skyrocketing health care costs, rising unemployment and an outdated minimum wage, Conyers continues to fight for equal pay for women and minorities, a raise in the minimum wage for all working families, and full employment for all Americans. He opposes the Bush Administration's attempts to roll back worker safety standards, the elimination of overtime in favor of flex-time, and efforts to undermine workers' collective bargaining rights in both the public and private sectors.

Congressman Conyers believes every American has the right to affordable health care. For more than three decades, he has led efforts in Congress to reform the health care system. He is the founder and chairman of the Congressional Universal Health Care Task Force, a 45 member caucus whose mission is to pass universal health care legislation by 2005. This legislation would guarantee every American access to affordable, comprehensive, quality health care. The caucus introduced House Concurrent Resolution 99, which has the support of over 450 grassroots organizations across the country, and dozens of Members of Congress. He recently introduced the United States National Health Insurance Act, H.R. 676, a bill to provide for comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents which has the endorsement of over 4000 physicians nationally. Further, Representative Conyers introduced the Resident Physician Safety Protection Act in order to reduce the hours that resident physicians work, so they can perform at optimal levels. The American Medical Association and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education have adopted major provisions of the bill.

The list of legislative accomplishments during Mr. Conyers tenure in Congress is long and impressive. The families of police officers, firefighters and other public safety personnel killed in the line of duty will gain from the Public Safety Officers Benefits Act, which has doubled the benefits available to survivors -- another measure authored by Representative Conyers. Similarly, Mr. Conyers wrote the Victims of Crime Act, which raised the amount of money available to victims of violent crime by $40 million, money that is paid in fines and penalties collected from convicted criminals. An outspoken critic of violence against women, Mr. Conyers introduced the Violence Against Women Act, which passed in the 103rd Congress. This is historic legislation that contains a broad array of laws and programs to address domestic violence and sexual assault in our country. In April of 1999 Mr. Conyers introduced legislation aimed at racial profiling by law enforcement officers. The Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act makes mandatory a Justice Department study of racial bias in traffic enforcement. In the wake of the disenfranchisement of voters in the 2000 Presidential election, Conyers introduced the "Equal Protection of Voters Rights Act" election reform measure which was ultimately signed into law.

Mr. Conyers also serves as the Dean and one of the original founders of the Congressional Black Caucus. Formed in 1969, the CBC was founded to strengthen African-American law makers ability to address the legislative concerns of Black and minority citizens.

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. attended public schools in Detroit and earned his BA and a law degree from Wayne State University. He is married to the former Monica Esters. Together, they have raised two sons, John III and Carl Edward.