Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - President Obama today signed into law the Child Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6063), a bipartisan, bicameral bill authored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) to better protect children from sexual predators. Chairman Smith and Rep. Wasserman Schultz joined the President at a signing ceremony at the White House.

Washington, D.C. - Senate Republicans today asked that the STEM Jobs Act (H.R.

Washington, D.C. - The House of Representatives today approved the STEM Jobs Act (H.R. 6429) by a vote of 245-139.  This bill eliminates the diversity visa program and reallocates up to 55,000 new green cards to the most highly qualified foreign graduates of American universities with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.  The bill also contains a provision to put families first, allowing the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents to come to the U.S.

Bill Goes to President’s Desk for Signature

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas); House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon; House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers; and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, released the following statement today on the release of Hezbollah operative Ali Mussa Daqduq.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today sent letters to Attorney General Eric Holder and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller regarding the disclosure of an investigation that led to the uncovering of an affair involving CIA Director David Petraeus.

Washington, D.C. - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano this week announced that gay partners will be considered as family members when immigration agents are trying to decide whether or not to try to deport an illegal immigrant from the U.S.  The directive means illegal immigrants in partnerships with American citizens could be spared deportation under the same leniency that is already often accorded to married couples.  This new directive may violate the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage at the federal level as th

Washington, D.C. - In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and House Oversight Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), questioned the Justice Department regarding revelations that a political appointee at the Department arranged a quid pro quo for the City of St. Paul, Minnesota to drop a Supreme Court lawsuit, Magner v. Gallagher.