In the News

Like most of the American public, I remain outraged and deeply troubled by reports of far-reaching and invasive government surveillance programs. As we now know, the government has interpreted Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act to secretly obtain personal data from U.S. citizens, whether or not they are suspected of any illegal activity.

The post-9/11 world has certainly offered a new set of challenges for those charged with keeping our nation safe and secure. The heinous attacks on our homeland showcased our vulnerability in the 21st century and the USA PATRIOT Act, passed in the attacks’ aftermath, was a reflexive action to help ensure such a tragedy would never happen again on U.S. soil.

To be clear, I support the use of technology to aggressively target suspected terrorists. But I disagree with the government’s overbroad, and likely unconstitutional, reading of its surveillance authorities. The key is that these actions must be truly targeted. I believe the Constitution and the long-held values this nation was founded on require this distinction to be upheld.

But the precarious balance between our security and our civil liberties has tipped, and the massive amounts of data the government has indiscriminately collected from millions of law-abiding Americans has raised major questions as to the propriety of certain surveillance programs in practice.

More recently, it has been reported that law enforcement agencies around the country are sweeping up cellphone date from ordinary Americans. Following the examples of federal agencies, local law enforcement are using Stingrays – devices that mimic cellphone towers – to collect massive amounts of data. Stingrays can be used to cover a broad area by attachment to land or aerial vehicles, allowing a law enforcement agency to tap into cellphone data in real time.

We also know the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has also been collecting bulk communications data for many years. According to the Justice Department, the DEA collected call logs of billions of international calls from the United States to more than 100 other countries. That program, which started nearly a decade before 9/11 and the USA PATRIOT Act, was used as the blueprint for the National Security Agency’s (NSA) domestic spying program.

As these revelations mount, the time has come for Congress to act to protect Americans’ privacy.  

On June 1, three of the most controversial provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act will expire. Congress must take the opportunity to finally rein in the government’s surveillance programs and end bulk data collection once and for all. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I will continue to scrutinize these programs and consider serious reforms to create more transparency and help rein in domestic surveillance programs that have gotten out of control.  

We must ensure our intelligence programs have meaningful oversight, accountability and transparency, which is why, last Congress I helped introduce the USA FREEDOM Act, which would end bulk data collection under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and four other surveillance authorities. Our private communications records should remain just that – private. This year, we have a new USA FREEDOM Act to consider, and I’m pleased that so far, the proposal marks an opportunity for real change.  

The USA FREEDOM Act from last Congress would have reformed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by creating a special advocate to argue on behalf of the public and would create more robust reporting requirements. It would also increase transparency by requiring the U.S. Attorney General to publicly disclose FISA court decisions by allowing companies to disclose when they receive information requests from government agencies. In the coming days and weeks, I plan to work with my colleagues to ensure that these reforms are the bare minimum that must be included in any measure that passes out of the House.  

Passing meaningful reforms will go a long way toward protecting the privacy of Americans, and move our country closer to striking the right balance between protecting our civil liberties and ensuring our national security.

The secret government surveillance programs that involved the bulk collection of American communications records are a violation of our individual privacy and our civil liberties. I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get bipartisan legislation to the president’s desk until this wrong is made right.