News

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate whether comments made by Attorney General Eric Holder during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in May 2011 were truthful. In a letter to President Obama, Chairman Smith expressed concern that Members of Congress may have been misled by the Attorney General’s response to a question regarding his knowledge of the Fast and Furious program.

Washington, D.C. -House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today applauded the signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Japan. Started in 2006 under the Bush administration, the agreement brings together countries to establish an effective international framework to combat global counterfeiting and piracy and better protect intellectual property.  The negotiating countries include:  Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States of America.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued the following statement today in response to a media report that the Obama administration plans to challenge several state immigration enforcement laws.  To date, the Obama administration has sued Arizona and Alabama for their state laws seeking to enforce federal immigration laws.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder regarding recent resignations and reassignments at ATF following public concerns regarding a Phoenix-based program known as “Fast and Furious,” which intentionally allowed straw buyers for criminal organizations to purchase thousands of guns and traffic them across the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Bipartisan, Bicameral Measure is Biggest Effort to Reform Regulatory Process
in More Than a Decade

Washington, DC - The House Judiciary Committee today approved the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885), a bill that could open up millions of jobs for unemployed American workers by requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.  The bill was reported favorably to the House floor by a vote of 22-13.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the bill’s primary sponsor, today praised the Committee vote.

Washington, D.C. - President Obama today signed into law the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R. 1249) a bipartisan, bicameral bill that updates our patent system to encourage innovation, job creation and economic growth.  Both Houses of Congress overwhelmingly supported the proposal, which was sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas).  The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1249 by a vote of 304-117 earlier this year.

Washington, D.C. - A broad coalition of groups support the Legal Workforce Act, a bill sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) that could open up millions of jobs for unemployed Americans by requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.