[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 21, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H2832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE GOVERNMENT MAY BE READING THE PEOPLE'S EMAILS

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, big, snoopy government agencies can 
read emails that are over 180 days old without a person's knowledge or 
consent. That is just wrong. It takes a warrant to eavesdrop phone 
conversations, but no warrant required to peruse a person's email?
  If Peeping Tom-crats can't listen to phones without a warrant, they 
shouldn't be able to read emails. That's why Congresswoman Lofgren, 
Congresswoman DelBene, and I introduced the Online Communications and 
Geolocation Protection Act. It would require a search warrant to seize 
a person's email.
  When a person mails a letter, the government cannot open the mail 
from the time it is placed in the mailbox, travels throughout the 
fruited plain, and ends up in another mailbox. The law protects the 
privacy of this snail mail.
  When a person sends an email through cyberspace, the government 
should not be allowed to seize the content without a search warrant. At 
a time when we see more and more government invasion of privacy, 
Congress should ensure that government does not press the delete button 
and eliminate the Constitution.
  And that's just the way it is.

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