Lamar Smith

Lamar Smith served as a Representative from Texas in the United States Congress from 1987 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Lamar Smith contributed to the legislative process during 16 terms in office.

Lamar Smith’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, Lamar Smith participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Lamar Seeligson Smith (born November 19, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives for Texas’s 21st congressional district for 16 terms, a district including most of the wealthier sections of San Antonio and Austin, as well as some of the Texas Hill Country. He is a member of the Republican Party. He sponsored the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act (PCIP). He also co-sponsored the Leahy–Smith America Invents Act. As the head of the House Science Committee, Smith has been criticized for his denial of, and promotion of conspiracy theories about, climate change and for receiving funding from oil and gas companies. He is a former contributor to Breitbart News, a website known for publishing dubious claims about climate change. In November 2017, Smith announced that he would retire from Congress at the end of his current term, and not seek re-election in 2018. In 2021, Smith registered as a lobbyist for the surveillance firm HawkEye 360 on behalf of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. In 2022, he officially registered as a foreign agent.