[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E762]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     H.R. 2408, THE USA FREEDOM ACT

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                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 20, 2015

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2048, the USA 
Freedom Act. This bill makes important improvements to the PATRIOT Act, 
including to Section 2154, which is the underpinning of the National 
Security Agency's (NSA) nationwide bulk collection program.
  Yet a ruling last week by the Second Circuit found that the bulk 
collection of phone records under this section violated the law. The 
right to privacy is a fundamental American value. And it is clear that 
the practice of unconstitutional bulk data collection endangers that 
right. Last week's court decision underscores this--and makes clear 
that more robust surveillance reforms are needed. While the USA Freedom 
Act is a good step forward, it does not go far enough. And I recognize 
the hard work of my good friend and colleague, Ranking Member John 
Conyers, Jr., on this important bill. More than thirteen years after 
the passage of the PATRIOT Act, Congress must do more to balance our 
national security with the protection of our civil liberties.
  The USA Freedom Act should include more robust protections to prevent 
the surveillance of individuals with no nexus to terrorism or any 
specific investigation. This would ensure adequate protections against 
indiscriminate surveillance from the government and ensure that Section 
215 cannot be used to collect Americans' records unrelated to any 
specific investigation. We should also be working for more robust 
minimization procedures to ensure that information collected under 
Section 215 is not stored in databases for years. This type of 
provision was included in a previous version of this bill and must be 
restored. We should also work to limit additional authorities outside 
of Section 215 that have been used to collect Americans' records in 
bulk. We know that the government has used other authorities--such as 
administrative subpoena laws--to collect Americans' records in bulk. 
And finally, H.R. 2048 should be amended to ensure that the government 
does not use authorities under Section 702 as a backdoor to conduct 
surveillance on Americans. Section 702 allows the government to 
intercept contents of Americans' electronic communications with 
individuals abroad--and stores them in a database--without a warrant. 
Reforms to Section 702 should be included in this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleagues for working in bipartisan manner 
on this bill. Yet I believe that additional reforms were needed to 
adequately protect Americans' fundamental right to privacy. More than 
13 years after the PATRIOT Act was first passed into law, it is time 
for Congress to let Section 215 expire and work toward serious and 
meaningful surveillance reform.

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