Press Releases

Goodlatte, Conyers, Sensenbrenner, Jackson Lee Unveil Secret Service Reform Legislation

March 26, 2015

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), and Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) today introduced the Secret Service Improvements Act of2015 (H.R. 1656) to reform the United States Secret Service.

Goodlatte Statement on Misconduct at the Drug Enforcement Administration

March 26, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today issued the following statement on the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s report regarding sexual misconduct and harassment allegations at four federal law enforcement agencies. Among its findings, the report found that several Drug Enforcement Administration agents allegedly had “sex parties” with prostitutes hired by drug cartels in Colombia while Colombian police officers watched their weapons and property.

House Judiciary Committee Approves SCRUB Act to Eliminate Outdated Regulations

March 24, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee approved the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act of 2015 (H.R. 1155) by a vote of 17-12. Congressman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) is the chief sponsor of the bill. The bill seeks to establish a blue-ribbon review committee to provide Congress with recommendations for the elimination of obsolete or unnecessary regulations that are costly to the American people.

Goodlatte Statement on DHS IG Report Regarding Deputy Secretary Mayorkas

March 24, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today issued the following statement on the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General’s report, which found that Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas allegedly exerted improper influence in the processing and approval of EB-5 immigration program benefits.

House Judiciary Committee Approves Legislation to Prevent Back Door Regulation

March 24, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 712, the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015, by a vote of 20-11. This bill will limit the manipulation of lawsuits and sue-and-settle decrees and settlements agreements that force regulators to issue new regulations.

House Judiciary Committee Approves Legislation to Increase Transparency and Accountability in Regulations

March 24, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 690, the Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2015, by a voice vote. Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) serves as the bill’s chief sponsor. This legislation would require any new proposed regulation to include the Internet address of a 100-word, plain-language summary of the rule for easy access on regulations.gov. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) praised today’s Committee vote. Chairman Goodlatte: “A common complaint from the American people is that federal regulations are too complicated and too complex to understand.

House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Facilitate Art & Cultural Artifact Exchange

March 24, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (H.R. 889) by a voice vote. Through a change in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, this legislation bolsters the ability of U.S. museums and schools to borrow foreign government-owned artifacts and artwork from other cultures around the world.. The legislation would encourage governments to loan many of their most treasured pieces of art and artifacts for public viewing in the United States. This goodwill partnership between nations of the world would allow for U.S.

House Judiciary Committee Approves RAPID Act to Expedite Federal Permit Approval

March 24, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 15-11 the Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act of 2015 (H.R. 348).

Goodlatte, Sessions, Gowdy, Cornyn Demand DHS Provide Information on Criminal Aliens

March 23, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest, Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee, and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson requesting information regarding the dangerous criminal aliens arrested during Ope

Goodlatte Statement on the Resignation of ATF Director B. Todd Jones

March 20, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Following the announcement of the resignation of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director B. Todd Jones, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement: