Hearing of the House Judiciary Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Goodlatte, Markup of H.R. 4001, the "Fix the Footnotes Act of 2015"

Hearing

H.R. 4001, the "Fix the Footnotes Act of 2015," introduced by Congressman Ken Buck of Colorado, is a technical but important piece of legislation. This bill fixes the footnotes placed by the Law Revision Counsel in Title 18 whenever it appears Congress has made an error in drafting or for clarity.

The last piece of comprehensive legislation addressing this issue was enacted in 2002. Before that, it was the 1994 crime bill -- passed by Congress more than twenty years ago. It is time for Congress to act again to correct clerical and drafting errors in the criminal code. H.R. 4001 addresses no fewer than 186 footnotes.

As I said at the outset, this is largely a technical piece of legislation. However, part of the Over-criminalization Task Force's follow-up work is to ensure the Federal criminal code is appropriately drafted and streamlined, and that Congress's intent is clear.

Moreover, it is Congress's duty to keep its house in order and correct mistakes. When American citizens' liberty is at stake, every word counts.

I commend the gentleman from Colorado for his work on this important legislation. I strongly support this bill, and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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