Lamar Smith (R-Texas)

Immigration and Border Security

In 1996, Smith authored the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which rewrote the country's immigration laws. The changes expedited deportation proceedings for illegal immigrants, limited parole and bond for certain types of immigrants and expanded the category of deportable offenses. The final bill loosened some of the regulations seeking to curb legal immigration in exchange for enhanced border security.,

In 1996, the House Judiciary Immigration subcommittee, headed by Smith, endorsed a proposal to change the 14th amendment guaranteeing citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States." The proposal would have taken that right away from children of illegal immigrants. Smith co-sponsored a 2005 bill ending birth citizenship, which didn't pass through committee.

In 2000, Smith drew up legislation to split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies, one for law enforcement and the other for immigration services. The bill died after President Clinton pulled his support, but the proposal was passed in 2002 as a part of a homeland security authorization bill.

In September 2007, Smith authored a confidential memo that was intended for Bush adviser Karl Rove's eyes, but ended up in the hands of an unidentified Democratic congressman when a Smith staffer misdialed a fax. According to the memo, Smith said, "Liberals can easily and accurately be painted as opposing enforcement."

In 2006, Smith supported a bill to construct a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border saying, "This is part of the overall solution. It is an important first step and shows that Republicans are serious about border security."

Smith opposed a plan backed by President George W. Bush in 2007 that would have created a guest-worker program for immigrants wanting to enter the country temporarily, and would have provided a path to citizenship for up to 12 million undocumented immigrants. Smith contended that the "proposal would do lasting damage to the country, American workers and the rule of law."

Smith has supported increasing the number of skilled foreign workers allowed into the U.S. In 2008, he introduced legislation to temporarily raise the cap for H-1B visas from 65,000 to 195,000 in order to meet U.S. needs for information technology and other skilled labor.

In March 2009, Smith criticized the Obama administration's strategy to fight Mexican drug cartels by shifting $59 million from existing law and immigration enforcement programs to the borders rather than investing new money in the problem.

Intellectual Property

In 2004, a Smith-sponsored bill established a full-time federal court panel versed in copyright law to set royalty rates for digital content.

Smith is a proponent of the Patent Reform Act, a set of proposal introduced in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Smith said an overhaul of the current patent system, established in 1952, is needed in order to protect an influx of new technology.

Science and Technology

Following the Feb. 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Smith proposed replacing humans with robots for routine orbital missions.

Smith co-sponsored legislation in 2007 offering tax credits for plug-in hybrid car customers.Also in 2007, he introduced a bill that would provide $250 million in federal grants for the technology.

The Economy

Smith voted for the fall 2008 $700 billion bailout of financial institutions saying, "This was not about bailing out Wall Street, This was about protecting American jobs, the financial security of families and the economy of our nation."

Smith opposed Obama's February 2009 $787 billion economic stimulus package, arguing that funding formulas are not proportional to state populations, leaving the Lone Star State at a disadvantage.

Show less