Press Releases

Washington, D.C.  – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement after Senate Democrats rejected the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015 (H.R. 4038): “It’s inexcusable that Senate Democrats today rejected a commonsense, targeted bill that would protect the American people from a very real threat posed by ISIS. ISIS terrorists have vowed to use the refugee system to enter Western countries and top national security officials within the Obama Administration have repeatedly warned that the U.S. government does not have the resources and dramatically lacks the information needed to fully vet refugees from Syria.

Washington, D.C.  – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement on the Department of Homeland Security’s “Entry/Exit Overstay Report for Fiscal Year 2015”, which looked at only two of the many categories of temporary visitors to the U.S. and found that more than 500,000 temporary visitors overstayed their visas last year: “It’s estimated that 30 to 40 percent of unlawful immigrants came to the U.S. legally but overstayed their visas.

Washington, D.C.  – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement following the Supreme Court’s decision to take up a case challenging President Obama’s executive actions on immigration: “President Obama stated 22 times that he does not have the authority to change immigration laws on his own yet he did so anyway. President Obama’s decision to ignore the limits placed on his power and act unilaterally to rewrite our nation’s immigration laws threatens the separation of powers and its checks and balances.

Chairman Goodlatte: The Origination Clause was the result of a contentious dispute at the Constitutional Convention between big states and small states over the structure and powers of the federal government. The less-populated small states feared that the Senate, where each state would have equal representation, would have little control over raising revenue. Indeed, all versions of the origination clause that prohibited the Senate from amending revenue-raising bills were vigorously opposed by small-state delegates.

Chairman Goodlatte: Today we consider H.R. 1854, the “Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act (CJMHA) of 2015,” introduced by Congressman Doug Collins. This bill expands and improves upon the initiatives created in the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) This law created the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) to help states and counties design and implement collaborative efforts between criminal justice and mental health systems.

Washington, D.C.  – As part of the House Judiciary Committee’s bipartisan criminal justice reform initiative, today the Committee approved by voice vote the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 3406), a bill that helps prisoners who have completed their sentences successfully return to society, thereby enhancing public safety.

Washington, D.C.  – The House Judiciary Committee today approved by voice vote the No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act (H.R.

Washington, D.C.  – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today announced the creation of a Task Force on Executive Overreach to examine the historic breakdown of the separation of powers and checks and balances that has led to the unprecedented increase in presidential power and executive overreach. The House Judiciary Committee plans to mark up a resolution to authorize the task force for six months in the coming weeks. It will be part of the task force’s mission to study the impact the increase in presidential and executive branch power has had on the ability of Congress to conduct oversight of the executive branch, the lack of transparency that furthers unchecked executi