News

Washington, D.C. - Leading members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees spoke to reporters Monday afternoon on Capitol Hill about the continuing harm online infringement and counterfeits pose to American jobs and the economy.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today introduced a proposal to modernize and reform the patent system. Similar to legislation that passed the Senate earlier this month, the America Invents Act implements a first-inventor-to-file standard for patent approval, creates a post-grant review system to weed out bad patents, and helps the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) address the backlog of patent applications.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano regarding the implementation and future of REAL ID.  DHS has pushed back the REAL ID deadline by 20 months to January 15, 2013 and Secretary Napolitano has once again called for the repeal of REAL ID.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today announced that the House Judiciary Committee will examine the proposed merger of telecommunications giants AT&T and T-Mobile.  Below is a statement from Chairman Smith regarding the proposal.

Washington, DC - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) joined the Washington Legal Foundation in filing an amicus brief this week urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review Martinez vs. Regents of the University of California.

Washington, DC - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued the following statement in response to a media report regarding immigrant criminals who cannot be deported being released into American communities.  According to the report, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency has released nearly 1,800 dangerous immigrant criminals since 2008 because of a Supreme Court ruling.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith today introduced legislation to require the Attorney General to consult with U.S. intelligence officials before giving foreign terrorists Miranda rights.  Chairman Smith was joined by eight members in introducing the Ensuring the Collection of Critical Intelligence Act of 2011 (H.R.

Washington, D.C. - Four GOP Committee Chairmen today sent a letter to President Obama urging him to reduce costly government regulations that burden American businesses and restrict economic growth. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) was joined in sending the letter by Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Small Business Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.).