![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2019\/05\/190507_Bob_Goodlatte_Visit_0220.jpg\")
<\/a>Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/p><\/div>\n
In his long tenure in the House, Goodlatte was well-known for his work on technology, intellectual property, and copyright issues. A leading conservative voice on immigration reform in recent years, he chaired the powerful House Judiciary Committee from 2013 to 2019.<\/p>\n
The Olin talk was in an interview format, as Goodlatte took questions from College Republicans co-presidents Frank Fusco \u201919 of Cheshire, Conn., and Charles Harker \u201919 of Janesville, Wis.<\/p>\n
The pair\u2019s questions ranged widely, touching on everything from what was important to students during Goodlatte\u2019s time at Bates (the Vietnam War and pushing the college to allow coed dorms, he said) to the nature of political polarization and bipartisanship today.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Former U.S. Rep. Goodlatte ’74 responds to questions from College Republicans co-presidents Charles Harker \u201919 (left) of Janesville, Wis., and Frank Fusco \u201919 of Cheshire, Conn. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n
Regarding the latter, Goodlatte pointed to the bipartisan First Step act. Signed by President Trump in December, the law shortens sentences and expands job training for some prisoners.<\/p>\n
Goodlatte called the strong bipartisan support for the bill an example for other efforts. \u201cWhen you finally get something and it resonates with both conservative think tanks and outside organizations and progressive think tanks and outside organizations, then everybody wants to jump on board,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bipartisan deliberation, Goodlatte pointed out several times, is vitally important but more difficult these days due to social media and an ever-faster news cycle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it harder to be the kind of deliberative body the House and Senate need to be,\u201d he said. \u201cThe more you talk about an issue before you vote on it, the more people can get riled up and into camps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to the talk, a few dozen students and faculty held a demonstration, arriving at Olin with signs pointing out Goodlatte\u2019s stances on immigration and other issues. Many of them stayed for the talk, and some asked questions during the audience Q&A.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Prior to the May 7 talk by former U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte ’74, students and faculty opposing Goodlatte’s immigration policies gather in protest in the Olin Arts Center foyer. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n
As Goodlatte had anticipated, most of the questions were pointedly delivered from the other side of the political spectrum. One student asked why, in 2018, Goodlatte had stalled a bill, passed by the Senate, that sought to combat violence against Native American women. The bill as it was took funding away from other areas of law enforcement, Goodlatte said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt caught everyone by surprise that it went through the Senate as rapidly as it did,\u201d he said. \u201cJust because it did doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not deserving of closer scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another asked Goodlatte why, in 2017, he supported efforts by the House Republican Conference to curtail the power of a newly established Office of Congressional Ethics. (The proposal was later withdrawn).<\/p>\n