114th Congress

Chairman Goodlatte: We welcome everyone today to this timely and important hearing on encryption. Encryption is a good thing.  It prevents crime, it prevents terrorist attacks.  It keeps our most valuable information safe.  Yet it is not used as effectively today as is necessary to protect against the ever increasing sophistication of foreign governments, criminal enterprises and just plain hackers. We see this manifest almost every week in the reports of losses of massive amounts of our most valuable information from government agencies, retailers, financial institutions, and individuals.  From identity theft to the compromising of our infrastructure, to our economic and milit

Chairman Goodlatte: James Madison wrote in Federalist No.

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee has announced its schedule for the week of February 29 –March 4, 2016 TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 201610:00 a.m. | Executive Overreach Task ForceHearing on: The Original Understanding of the Role of Congress and How Far We’ve Drifted From It Witnesses:

• Mr. Matthew Spalding, Associate Vice President and Dean of Educational Programs Hillsdale College, Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship
• Mr. James C.

Washington, D.C.  – On Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans’ Security and Privacy.” The House Judiciary Committee previously held member briefings on encryption, which included a briefing from technology companies and a classified briefing from the government. As encryption has increasingly become much more widespread among consumers, there is an ongoing national debate about the positive and negative implications it poses for consumers’ security and privacy.

Chairman Goodlatte: Today’s hearing will examine international conflicts of law and how these conflicts impact law enforcement access to data both here and abroad. This is an extremely important issue that affects individuals, technology companies, law enforcement, and the economy. In the digital age where the Internet knows no boundaries, U.S. technology companies have flourished internationally and provide services to customers and subscribers around the world.  But, there is a growing tension between U.S. law and foreign law, and U.S. technology companies are caught in the middle.  U.S.

Chairman Goodlatte: Hard-working Americans are some of the leading victims of frivolous lawsuits and the extraordinary costs that our legal system imposes. Everyday local business owners routinely have lawsuits filed against them based on claims they have no substantive connection to, as a means of forum shopping on the part of the lawyers filing the case. These lawsuits impose a tremendous burden on small businesses and their employees.

Washington, D.C.  – In advance of their first idea forum today, the chairs of the Task Force on Restoring Constitutional Authority released their mission statement.