The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act program was initially enacted with the focus of gathering intelligence on foreign actors but was expanded by the USA Patriot Act in 2001 to include surveillance of U.S. citizens.
Note from the editor:
I remember when the Patriot Act was first signed into law. I was one of the few who railed against it because of everything that is being railed against it today. I was attacked from all sides because it was shortly after 9-11 and people would rather give up freedom than security.
Benjamin Franklin once said "He who would give up essential liberty in order to gain a little temporary security deserves neither."
I have not changed my stance on this.
Rod Blum (R-IA, 1st)
“I respect the work of our intelligence community and law enforcement agencies to protect U.S. citizens from harm within the country and overseas, but I cannot support flagrant violations of the Fourth Amendment. I co-sponsored Congressman Amash’s proposed Amendment because I continue to be concerned about unauthorized government intrusion in private communications between U.S. citizens, and I believe this amendment would have addressed these underlying issues such as ensuring proper warrants are in place before obtaining information on U.S. citizens. Unfortunately, this amendment was not included in the final bill, and that is why I voted NO on continuing these unconstitutional surveillance practices.”
“We all want the nation to be secure, but Americans’ privacy rights must not be sacrificed while protecting national security,” said Bonamici. “Our intelligence gathering infrastructure and the laws governing it need to strike a careful balance between national security and an individual’s right to privacy. This bill does not properly achieve that balance. It raises serious concerns about the potential for abusive warrantless searches that would undermine Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights. I’m disappointed that the House did not agree to bipartisan reforms to address those concerns.
“In an increasingly connected world, it is critical that the American government respect the privacy rights of Americans while protecting national security. I cannot support reauthorization without stronger safeguards to prevent the unconstitutional collection and use of our private communications.”
Judy Chu (D-CA, 27th)
“FISA includes flaws that were written for a different time. That is why, for years, we have been calling for a fix that would protect our citizens from FISA abuses. The bill that passed the House today is not that fix. While this bill does add new warrant requirements for law enforcement, those requirements are for display only. In fact, the FBI acknowledges that they will almost never be forced to use a warrant under this law to access e-mail or phone calls. This creates a real risk that the private information of American citizens could be handed over to other agencies without having to follow due process. Further, the warrant provision is further weakened by an undefined ‘national security’ exemption so ambiguous that I worry the government will use it to allow a number of purely domestic searches. We must protect the rights and privacy of American citizens.”
Tom Cole (R-OK, 4th)
“I am extremely pleased that the legislation extending section 702 authority, which is critical to our national security, has been adopted by the House and passed, with my support,” said Cole. “S. 139 allows the federal government to track foreign terrorists on foreign soil. These surveillance activities are crucial to protecting American citizens and our troops stationed abroad.”
“I am also satisfied that there are sufficient measures included in the legislation to protect the privacy of American citizens. We have not seen any abuse of section 702 authority by intelligence agencies and law enforcement in the past, and I am confident that they will continue to perform with the highest professional standards in the future.”
“The debate over the section 702 authority has been good and healthy. I believe Congress has struck the right balance between protecting civil liberties and protecting our nation’s safety and security in this year’s FISA reauthorization.”
Joseph P. Kennedy, 3rd (D-MA, 4th)
“Balancing the delicate scales of privacy and security for the American people is Congress’s most solemn responsibility. Reauthorizing this surveillance program provided an overdue opportunity to ensure that our intelligence community maintained the tools necessary to keep us safe, while guaranteeing the civil liberties of our citizens. Instead, the bill approved today only slightly improved the status quo and failed to make the meaningful reforms this program required.”
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