[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 79 (Friday, May 23, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E835-E836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            USA FREEDOM ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. RUSH HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 2014

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I recognize the work that Mr. Sensenbrenner, 
Mr. Conyers, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Scott, and others have put into this, 
but the bill before us still falls woefully short of what is required 
to correct the abuses brought to light over the last year.
  This legislation still allows the government to collect everything 
they want against Americans--to treat Americans as suspects first and

[[Page E836]]

citizens second. It still allows decisions about whom to target, and 
how aggressively to go after acquaintances of acquaintances of targets, 
to be made by mid-level intelligence community employees, not federal 
judges. This so-called ``two-hops'' surveillance casts a very wide net 
that can reach millions of people.
  Most important, the fundamental decisions made under the authorities 
provided in this bill will be made using a weak, inferior standard that 
does not reach the probable cause standard. In other words, the 
government can spy on people based on weak suspicions and not on 
legally established probable cause.
  Now, my friends say, ``Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the 
good.'' The perfect? How could anyone here vote for legislation that 
doesn't uphold the constitutional standard of probable cause?
  Probable cause has been well established in law for two centuries to 
keep Americans secure by keeping intelligence and enforcement officers 
focused on real threats, not on vague suspicions or wild-goose chases. 
Indeed, the debate over adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution was 
about raising the standard for the government's legal interaction with 
its citizens, not lowering it as we are now. That standard for the 
behavior of intelligence and law enforcement officers is not archaic. 
The power of the government to oppress individuals based on false 
suspicions is not less, but greater, than when the Constitution and 
Bill of Rights were written.
  The bill also fails to deal with some of the most important abuses 
revealed over the last year. It provides no protection for national 
security whistleblowers, whose revelations over the last decade are the 
only reason why we are finally having such a public debate on this 
issue. The secrecy of the Intelligence Community is so complete that 
Congress will never be able to have meaningful oversight without 
whistleblowers from within the community, and rarely will they speak up 
without some protection against firing or worse. And human nature has 
not changed. The propensity for investigators to let their suspicions 
get the better of them is as great as it ever was--even well 
intentioned investigators.
  The bill also allows the government to continue surreptitiously to 
compromise encryption and privacy technology built into American 
electronics and software products, putting at direct risk America's hi-
tech business sector and the jobs it provides.
  A decade ago there was a major change in the relationship between 
Americans and their government. This bill does not correct it. Members 
should reject this badly flawed bill and the House leadership should 
allow an open debate on a real surveillance reform bill.

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