News

Washington, D.C. - The House Judiciary Committee today approved legislation to ban the federal funding of abortion.  The Committee favorably reported H.R. 3, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” by a vote of 23-14.

Chairman Smith issued the following statement at today’s markup in support of the bill. 

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano regarding the implementation of REAL ID.  It has been reported DHS is planning to push back the REAL ID deadline by 21 months to January 15, 2013.  The current deadline for states to become materially compliant with the REAL ID is May 11. 

The letter reads:

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today issued the following statement regarding the President’s bipartisan health care summit:

Ranking Member Smith: “Inviting Republicans to the table to discuss health care reform is a good first step.  But if the President is serious about bipartisan reform, he must include real tort reforms that produce savings for the American people. 

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued the following statement in response to the thwarted terror plot in Texas.  Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, a 20-year-old citizen of Saudi Arabia in the U.S. on a student visa, is charged with the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and is alleged to have listed the home of former President George W. Bush as a possible target. 

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today introduced a bill to bar Guantanamo Bay detainees from entry into the U.S.  The Keep Terrorists at Bay Act of 2010 (H.R. 4648) closes the legal means by which the Administration can bring terrorists into the U.S.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today criticized the Administration’s decision not to defend a federal marriage law enacted by Congress in 1996.  The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) affirms the definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman.  It was passed with bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton.

Washington, D.C. - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report finding the U.S.-Mexico border is vulnerable to cross-border illegal activity.  Of the nearly 2,000 miles separating the U.S.

[Statement on the House Floor]

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today urged the House to pass a 90-day extension of expiring national security provisions.  Below is Chairman Smith’s statement from the House floor.

Chairman Smith: The Senate amendment to H.R. 514 extends the three expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act for only 90 days.  I am disappointed that the Senate refused to agree to the 10 month extension approved by the House earlier this week.