Press Releases

Chairman Goodlatte:  As we seek to reform our immigration system as a whole, we must take the time to look at each of the individual issues within this system to ensure that we get immigration reform right. Today the Committee will consider the second in a series of bills that represent the judicious and thorough, step-by-step approach to immigration reform that this Committee has undertaken.

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) issued this joint statement upon receipt of a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the discrepancy between his sworn testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last month and the Department of Justice’s decision to obtain a search warrant for the emails of James Rosen, the chief Washington correspondent

Chairman Goodlatte:  Today the House Judiciary Committee will mark up its first immigration bill. Over the past six months, the Committee has convened numerous hearings on immigration and introduced several pieces of legislation that address many of the issues plaguing our immigration system. We have, and will continue, to take a step by step approach to immigration reform, thoroughly examining each piece in detail.

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee tonight approved legislation in a vote of 20-15 to provide a robust interior enforcement strategy and strengthen the security of our country and communities.  The Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act (H.R. 2278), also known as the SAFE Act, is one of several bills the House Judiciary Committee has proposed to address various issues within our immigration system and is a critical component of immigration reform. 

Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives today approved legislation, in a bipartisan vote of 228-196, which would ban abortions, with limited exceptions, in the United States after 20 weeks post fertilization, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797).  Since the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973, medical knowledge regarding the development of unborn babies and their capacities at various stages of growth has advanced dramatically.  Extensive research conducted by Dr.

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today offered an amendment to H.R. 1960, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014, which further protects the rights of U.S. citizens by ensuring that in any habeas proceedings for U.S. citizens apprehended in the U.S., the burden of proof is on the government, not the citizen.  The Goodlatte Amendment passed by a bipartisan vote.  

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today welcomed Representative Jason Smith (R-Mo.) as the newest member of the House Judiciary Committee.  Representative Smith was sworn in as a Member of the 113th Congress on June 5, 2013.

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved legislation by voice vote that prohibits state and local governments that receive federal economic development funds from using eminent domain to transfer private property from one private owner to another for the purpose of economic development, the Private Property Rights Protection Act (H.R. 1944).  This legislation is in response to the 2005 Supreme Court decision in the case of Kelo v.