Bob Goodlatte

We all know how easy it is to steal content.

Copyright is a fundamental economic principle enshrined in our Constitution.

It seems to me that those who believe everything should be free fundamentally disrespect the creators who have put so much effort into their works.

Our policies should incentivize innovation, not frustrate it.

I applaud your creative thinking with the H-2C program and inclusion of seafood in this agricultural workforce bill.

I think we can solve this problem.

You are all making a great contribution to our effort to solve this problem of having an agricultural guestworker program that works for America.

I appreciate you and the Ranking Member's forbearance on letting me ask questions first.

We are looking for a program that is dependable and consistent and one that allows us to stay in business and keep Americans working.

H.R. 1773, the Agricultural Guestworker Act, jettisons the dysfunctional features of the H-2A program and creates a new H-2C agricultural guestworker program that successfully meets the needs laid out.

Growers need a fair, workable guestworker program that gives them access to the workers they need when they need them at a fair wage and with reasonable conditions.

One would presume that if we made this mandatory, that one of the keys to that is not just making it mandatory...

Why would you not want all of your competitors to be required to use E-Verify as soon as possible?

The future of immigration reform hinges on assuring the American people that our immigration laws will be enforced.

One way to make sure we discourage illegal immigration in the future is to prevent unlawful immigrants from getting jobs in the U.S.

At this time, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Grimm) and thank him for his authorship and sponsorship of this legislation.

As Attorney General of the United States, I think it would reflect well on the respect that the Attorney General of the United States is entitled to, to see those questions entered, answered as a part of the separation of powers, operation…

The focus should be on those people who break their oaths and put the American people at risk, not reporters who gather this information.

I take it that you or others in the Justice Department will be forthcoming with those answers to those questions as you explore why this was handled what appears to be contrary to the law and standard procedure.

Any abridgment of the First Amendment right to the freedom of the press is very concerning, and Members of the Committee want to hear an explanation today.

Just last week, we learned that IRS employees have admittedly targeted conservative groups for additional and unwanted scrutiny just because they chose to exercise their First Amendment rights.

This secret deal undermined the rule of law and robbed the American taxpayers of the opportunity to recover over $200 million in fraudulently obtained funds.

This quid pro quo potentially cost American taxpayers over $200 million.

I would like to start by reminding folks why we're here today, which is to examine a secret deal struck by a senior Justice Department official, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez.

I thank the Ranking Member.