[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 74 (Thursday, May 14, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H2969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            USA FREEDOM ACT

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the House of 
Representatives overwhelmingly passed the USA FREEDOM Act, a bipartisan 
bill to reform the controversial domestic surveillance programs.
  The passage of this legislation is the result of strong bipartisan 
negotiations to strike a balance in order to protect American citizens' 
rights without dealing a blow to lawful and warranted surveillance 
efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress did not intend for any law to authorize the 
indiscriminate collection of personal information from Americans. The 
USA FREEDOM Act will help end government overreach, while ensuring 
intelligence agencies have the tools at their disposal to lawfully 
pursue suspected terrorists in efforts to protect all Americans.
  As a member of the bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, I applaud 
the Judiciary Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence for working together to write a bill that strikes a 
balance to protect our constitutional rights without compromising our 
national security.

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