Lamar Smith

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend and Texas colleague, Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Ralph Hall, for taking the lead on this bill and bringing it to the floor today. My hope is that after the House passes this bill the Senate will act quickly and send it to the President for his signature. The problem this bill addresses is to confirm the ownership of mementoes the Apollo astronauts received from their journeys. I was first contacted one year ago about this problem by my constituent, Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke, who now lives in New Braunfels, Texas and also chairs the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The Scholarship Foundation is one of the beneficiaries from the sale of such artifacts, and they have provided over $3 million in scholarships to college students studying science and engineering so they too can aspire to be astronauts. At the end of the Apollo program, these mementoes were deemed to be of little value, and NASA was simply going to throw many of these items in the trash heap of history--checklists with scribbled equations and calculations in the margins, a camera and other personal effects the Apollo astronauts were offered to keep for themselves. However, in the intervening 40 years, these mementoes took on a greater historical context, just like mementoes from past wars or famous people take on greater significance. Unfortunately, over-zealous NASA and the Justice Department lawyers recently started filing law suits against Apollo astronauts--our American heroes--and started questioning their integrity. This is wrong. And this bill clarifies the ownership of these artifacts in the possession of our astronauts. Chairman Hall, thank you for doing the right thing--once again--for our astronauts.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, America and its allies continue to face national security threats from foreign nations, spies, and terrorist organizations. Our national security agencies must be able to conduct surveillance of foreign terrorists and others so we can stop them before they disable our defenses, carry out a plot against our country, or kill innocent Americans. In 1978, Congress enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to provide procedures for the domestic collection of foreign intelligence. To protect Americans' civil liberties, FISA created Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts comprised of sitting Federal court judges. If the government needs to collect domestic information for national security purposes, it must first request permission from a FISA judge. This is limited to domestic information. FISA was never intended to apply to the collection of information from non-U.S. persons in foreign countries. But advances in technology over the last 40 years have changed how overseas communications are transmitted. In 2006, then-Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Mike McConnell, stated that the intelligence community was not collecting approximately two-thirds of the foreign intelligence information that it collected prior to legal interpretations that required the government to obtain individualized FISA court orders for overseas surveillance. To solve the problem, in 2008, Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act to reaffirm our longstanding intent that a court order is not required when a non-U.S. person outside the U.S. is targeted. The act continues the authority to collect intelligence from foreign targets located outside the United States. The FISA Amendments Act both strengthens our national security and expands civil liberties protections for all Americans. The act requires an individualized court order for the government to target an American anywhere in the world. Under the FISA Amendments Act, the government cannot conduct any surveillance overseas without authorization. The government cannot target individuals unless there is a reasonable belief they are not in the United States, which the government must try to ascertain. The government cannot intentionally acquire communications when the sender and recipient are both in the United States without an individualized court order from a FISA judge. The government cannot reverse-target individuals overseas in order to monitor those in the United States. This means that the government cannot target a U.S. person simply by monitoring a non-U.S. person that the U.S. person is talking to. And for the first time in history, the government must obtain an individualized court order from the FISA court to target Americans outside the United States. Foreign surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act is subject to extensive oversight by the administration and Congress. Every 60 days, Justice Department national security officials and the Director of National Intelligence conduct onsite reviews of surveillance conducted pursuant to the FISA Amendments Act. In addition, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence conduct detailed assessments of compliance with court-approved targeting and minimization procedures and provide these amendments to Congress twice a year. The administration also is required to submit to the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees a copy of any FISA court order opinion or decision. It must also submit the accompanying pleadings, briefs, and other memoranda of law from national security officials within the intelligence community that relate to a significant construction or interpretation of any provision of FISA. This law will expire at the end of this year unless Congress reauthorizes it. President Obama has identified reauthorization of the FISA Amendments Act as the top legislative priority of the intelligence community and requests Congress to extend the law for 5 years. H.R. 5949 is a bipartisan piece of legislation to do just that, extend the FISA Amendments Act to December 31, 2017. Foreign terrorists continue to search for new ways to attack America. Foreign nations continue to spy on America, to plot cyberattacks, and attempt to steal sensitive information from our military and private sector industries. They are committed to the destruction of our country, and their methods of communication are constantly evolving. We have a solemn responsibility to ensure that the intelligence community can gather the information it needs to protect our country and protect our citizens. This bipartisan bill ensures that our country will be able to identify and prevent threats to our national security without sacrificing the civil liberties of American citizens. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. I will yield the gentleman an additional minute.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, the vote we cast on the FISA Amendments Act tonight will be one of the most important votes we cast in Congress, and it is appropriate we do so during the week of 9/11. The FISA Amendments Act will continue to allow us to conduct surveillance of terrorists, spies and others who would do us harm. A FISA court order is required if the target is a U.S. citizen, but not if the individual is outside of the United States and not a U.S. citizen. The FISA Amendments Act was first passed in 2008 overwhelmingly, and it expires at the end of December. This bill extends the law for 5 years. The FISA Amendments Act is a top priority of the intelligence community. It was supported by the Bush administration in 2008 and is strongly endorsed by the Obama administration now. This is a bipartisan bill that enables us to vote to both neutralize threats to our national security and protect the civil liberties of American citizens. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren), who is the chairman of the Administration Committee here in the House, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, and a former attorney general of California.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we're prepared to close on this side, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 773, I call up the bill (H.R. 5949) to extend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 for five years, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 5949, as amended, and currently under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Gowdy), who is a particularly active member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on S. 3245, currently under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) for her continued interest and leadership in the subject of immigration, and I especially appreciate her support of this bill today. I yield back the balance of my time. Committee on Education and the Workforce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, September 10, 2012. Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to confirm our mutual understanding with respect to the consideration of S. 3245, a bill that reauthorizes certain immigration provisions. Thank you for consulting with the Committee on Education and the Workforce with regard to S. 3245 on those matters within the committee's jurisdiction. In the interest of expediting the House's consideration of S. 3245, the Committee on Education and the Workforce will forgo further consideration on this bill. However, I do so only with the understanding that this procedural route will not be construed to prejudice the committee's jurisdictional interest and prerogatives on this bill or any other similar legislation and will not be considered as precedent for consideration of matters of jurisdictional interest to my committee in the future. I respectfully request your support for the appointment of outside conferees from the Committee on Education and the Workforce should this bill or a similar bill be considered in a conference with the Senate. I also request that you include our exchange of letters on this matter in the Committee Report on S. 3245 and in the Congressional Record during consideration of this bill on the House floor. Thank you for your attention to these matters. Sincerely, John Kline, Chairman.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I'd like to thank the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman and ranking member for introducing this legislation and for working with me to help ensure that four key immigration- related programs do not expire at the end of this month. This Congress must ensure there is a national business climate that fosters the ability of private enterprise to create jobs for Americans and legal workers. S. 3245, which extends for 3 years the E-Verify, EB-5 Regional Center Pilot, the Conrad 30 J-1 Visa Waiver, and the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker programs, helps achieve this goal in several ways. First, the E-Verify program allows employers to electronically verify that newly hired employees are authorized to work in the United States. The program is free, quick, and easy to use. Nearly 400,000 American employers use E-Verify, and over 1,000 new businesses sign up for it every week. The American public overwhelmingly supports E-Verify. Last year, a Rasmussen poll found that 82 percent of likely voters ``think businesses should be required to use the Federal Government's E-Verify system to determine if a potential employee is in the country legally.'' E-Verify has also received bipartisan congressional support in the past. In 2008, the House passed a 5-year extension of E-Verify by a vote of 407-2. And in 2009, the Senate passed a permanent E-Verify extension by voice vote. Ensuring that businesses have access to E-Verify will help preserve jobs for the 23 million Americans who are currently unemployed or looking for full-time work. The investor visa program also helps create jobs for Americans. Under this program, 10,000 immigrants can receive permanent residence each year if they engage in a new commercial enterprise, invest between $500,000 and $1 million in the business, and see that it creates 10 full-time jobs for American workers. The Regional Center Pilot Project, which is almost two decades old, has reinvigorated the investor visa program. Investment through a regional center is especially attractive to potential investors because they are relieved of the responsibility of running a new business. They can also count indirect job creation towards the job creation requirement. Most investor visa petitions now involve regional centers. It appears that investors may feel more confident about a regional center that is operated through a State or city government. In these hard economic times, many State and local governments have turned to regional centers as a method of generating economic growth. The Association to Invest in the United States of America has estimated the regional center program has created or saved over 65,000 jobs in the U.S. and has led to the investment of over $3 billion in the U.S. economy. S. 3245 also extends for 3 years a program that has successfully brought needed doctors to medically underserved areas in the U.S. This program was designed by Senator Kent Conrad. It allows foreign doctors who have been in the U.S. on exchange programs to stay at the conclusion of their residencies if they agree to practice medicine for at least 3 years in health professional shortage areas. This is a valuable provision, and I support its reauthorization. Finally, S. 3245 extends the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program. Under this program, 5,000 immigrant visas can be issued to nonminister individuals who have been members of the denomination and who have worked in the capacity for which they are applying for at least the 2 years immediately following the visa applications. Historically, the program has been plagued by fraud, but the Bush administration took steps to help prevent much of the fraud, and now many churches and religious organizations in the United States rely on these immigrant nonministers. I look forward to making statutory changes aimed at even more fraud prevention, and I support the program's extension. Again, I want to thank Senator Leahy and Senator Grassley for their leadership on this bill. All four of these programs are important, and I urge my colleagues to support S. 3245. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2800) to amend the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to reauthorize the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4305, the Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program, was introduced by my Judiciary Committee colleague, Mr. Chabot. I thank him for his work on this issue. A child goes missing in this country every 40 seconds. Almost 800,000 children are reported missing each year and 500,000 go missing without ever being reported. In many cases of missing children, the AMBER Alert system is activated to help law enforcement and community search efforts. However, in order to issue an AMBER Alert for a missing child, law enforcement officials must have a description of the child, the suspect, the vehicle if there is one and how the abduction took place. Additionally, they must be able to confirm that the child has in fact been abducted and did not simply wander off on their own. Without evidence of an abduction, law enforcement officers cannot issue an AMBER Alert. This is where programs like the Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program step in. Experience shows that time is of the essence when searching for missing persons--particularly young children and the elderly. H.R. 4305 would allow funding under the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program to go toward rapid recovery phone call and alert systems that can be deployed when children and elderly persons are missing. Such programs complement the AMBER Alert program by quickly disseminating information about missing persons within targeted geographic areas even when the information available is minimal. Having a child, elderly or disabled loved one go missing is any family's worst nightmare. H.R. 4305 provides a critical tool in the efforts to find missing persons. I again thank the gentleman from Ohio for his work on this issue and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the rules of the House entrust to the Judiciary Committee the responsibilities of revision and codification of the statutes of the United States. This power does not give our committee substantive legislative jurisdiction over all areas of law. It merely confers the authority to organize duly enacted laws into an efficient codification system. The nonpartisan Office of Law Revision Counsel is responsible for properly codifying public laws into titles and sections of the United States Code. From time to time, that office provides the Judiciary Committee with advice as to how to enact a more user-friendly and cohesive statutory system. This spring, Republican and Democratic committee staff worked cooperatively with the Office of Law Revision Counsel to develop H.R. 6080. The bill makes technical improvements to title 41 of United States Code, which contains Federal laws that govern public contracts. The bill makes no changes to substantive law. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 6080, currently under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6080) to make improvements in the enactment of title 41, United States Code, into a positive law title and to improve the Code.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time as well.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Adams).

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I join the ranking member, Congressman Conyers, in cosponsoring this commonsense, bipartisan bill, the Reporting Efficiency Improvement Act, and I thank him for introducing this legislation. The Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 requires Federal agencies to identify reports that may be outdated or duplicative. Then the executive branch must consult with Congress to determine if these reports can be eliminated. Here, the administration suggests that Congress repeal the two reports eliminated by this bill. Both of these reports are prepared by the Office of Justice Programs and the Department of Justice, but the underlying grant programs have not been funded by Congress for many years. Adopting this commonsense bill is a simple step that Congress can take to help Federal agencies work more efficiently. I hope this bill sets a precedent for many similar bills in the future. I again thank Mr. Conyers for his initiative on this issue. I would urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.