News

Reporting Requirement Won’t Prevent Gun Trafficking,
Simply Punishes Citizens of Border States

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today criticized the Obama administration’s decision to impose new reporting requirements for gun sales in states along the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Washington, DC - The House Judiciary Committee today approved legislation to reduce frivolous lawsuits that plague our legal system and restore sanctions against attorneys who file meritless suits in federal court. The Committee favorably reported H.R. 966, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (LARA), by a vote of 20-13. 

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) sent a letter to Secretary Janet Napolitano urging the Obama administration to stop any current or planned actions that would use executive branch authority to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.

Washington, D.C. - Recently, officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called off the deportation of an illegal immigrant who is married to his same-sex partner in the United States.  This decision follows U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s instruction to an immigration court to ignore the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in future rulings. Earlier this year, the Justice Department abandoned its obligation to defend DOMA, a federal law enacted by Congress and signed by President Clinton to protect the institution of marriage.

Following ICE’s decisions, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the Administration’s decision.

Washington, DC - During his press conference today, President Obama made remarks regarding the E-Verify program and comprehensive immigration reform.  Following his remarks, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) released the statement below.

Chairman Smith: “Requiring all employers to use E-Verify could open up millions of jobs for unemployed Americans.  E-Verify quickly identifies individuals working illegally in the U.S. and enjoys a 99.5% success rate.  Both the business community and the American people overwhelmingly support the expansion of E-Verify.

Washington, D.C. - The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing tomorrow on the DREAM Act, a bill that would legalize millions of illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) released the statement below. 

Chairman Smith:  “Tomorrow’s hearing on the DREAM Act highlights how out of touch Democrats are with the priorities of the American people.  Millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in the past few years dream of going back to work, but the DREAM Act won’t make this dream come true for them.  

Washington, D.C. - Last week, the Obama administration announced changes to Secure Communities, a program intended to identify illegal immigrants in police custody who have been arrested and fingerprinted.  These changes could potentially allow millions of illegal and criminal immigrants to remain in the United States.  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the Obama administration for this misguided decision.

Washington, D.C. - The House of Representatives today passed a bill sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) that updates our patent system to encourage innovation, job creation and economic growth. 

Much-needed reforms to our patent system are long overdue.  The last major patent reform was nearly 60 years ago. H.R. 1249, 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.

The House overwhelmingly approved the bill by a vote of 304-117.