GOP drops ‘civil rights and human rights’ from subcommittee name

The new GOP chairman of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee changed the name of the panel, dropping “civil rights” and “human rights” from its title.

The subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights is now simply the subcommittee on the Constitution. The subcommittee names are chosen by its chair, so Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) is responsible for the switch.

“We changed the name because the Constitution covers our most basic rights including civil and human rights. We will focus on these rights along with other issues that fall under the broader umbrella of the Constitution,” Cornyn’s spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said.

But civil rights leaders are displeased. Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, called it “a discouraging sign” in a news release Friday.

“Changing the name of this subcommittee is a poor start, but the proof of the panel’s seriousness about addressing these issues will become apparent in its actual work,” she said. “We only hope that this troubling name change doesn’t foretell a heedless retreat on civil and human rights.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/wp/2015/01/24/gop-drops-civil-rights-and-human-rights-from-subcommittee-name/