The former Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the House Judiciary Committee now has a more streamlined title — the Constitution Committee.
The former chairman of the subcommittee, Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, isn’t pleased.
Nadler
“Once again, the new Republican majority has shown that it isn’t quite as committed to the Constitution as its recent lofty rhetoric would indicate,” Nadler said in a statement. “Today (Jan. 7, 2011) it has yet again shown its contempt for key portions of the document – the areas of civil rights and civil liberties — by banishing those words for the title of the Constitution Subcommittee. . . . With the subcommittee name change, they are again telling Americans that only some parts of the Constitution matter. Fundamental rights and liberties appear to have been dropped from the Constitution by far-right ideologues.”
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., is the new subcommittee chairman, taking over from Nadler, and Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, is the Judiciary Committee chairman. The Republican press office of the committee has not responded to requests for comment on the name change.
