Republicans are registering frustration with Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., over the lack of action taken on bills in the House Judiciary Committee that he chairs, Politico reported Thursday.
Legislation that addresses Dreamers in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is still in committee weeks after being sent there in late February, and no substantive changes have been made to it, multiple senior House sources said, Politico reported.
During interviews with more than a dozen lawmakers, aides, and White House officials, Goodlatte's committee was called where "bills go to die."
"The chairman's efforts undermined all of the work that the White House has done and that many of us have done here to try to build a bipartisan coalition … I don't get the sense that he actually processes the feedback he asks for or tries to incorporate it," said Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla.
"He hears but he doesn't listen."
Goodlatte moves slowly or not at all on taking up legislation, Republican colleagues say. GOP members of Goodlatte's own committee say he has squandered its power.
"I'm not trying to kick him in the shorts on the way out the door, but there were a lot of missed opportunities," said former House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, who served with Goodlatte on the Judiciary Committee. "It was very frustrating because people wanted to move forward. But on some of the more difficult issues, Chairman Goodlatte chose to stay silent and not do anything," he added.
In an interview, Goodlatte rejected the idea that he has not done enough as chairman of the Judiciary. "We have to gauge what we think is going to be the most likely to yield a productive change in policy," he said.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., defended Goodlatte's sense of caution. "He thinks the issues through for good cause and he's just trying to move the ball forward," he said.
The congressman is resigning from Congress when his tenure as chairman of the committee ends in November.
Before retiring, Goodlatte said he aims to take on intellectual property, copyright law, and maybe patent and criminal justice reform.
"I'm going to sprint to the finish line," he said, Politico reported.
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