[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 91 (Thursday, June 9, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE SPIES AMONG US--AND GOVERNMENT ABUSE OF 702 A

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 2016

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, almost 3 years have passed since 
Edward Snowden revealed the extent of surveillance that was occurring 
on U.S. citizens. Edward Snowden is no patriot. However, the alarming 
information about the NSA's abuse of power he revealed cannot be 
ignored.
   Until Snowden, most Americans were unaware that their own government 
was trampling on their Fourth Amendment rights. Most people did not 
know their every move could be tracked by Big Brother. They trusted 
that this agency acted purely in the interest of national security to 
keep us safe. Post 9/11 and with two ongoing wars, many believed that 
government surveillance--including warrantless searches and seizures--
was limited to foreign nationals, not American citizens. That would be 
consistent with federal law and the Constitution. But unfortunately, 
this is not always the case.
   In recent years, we have learned that the agency has misused and 
expanded the intent of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act (FISA). NSA uses Section 702 as a means to gather not 
only data but content and to allow law enforcement to later search this 
data for information about American citizens without a warrant. Because 
it gathers and searches content of individual communications, I believe 
Section 702 is more intrusive than even Section 215 which has garnered 
significant attention.
   FISA permits the collection of such data of a suspected agent of a 
foreign power, but the federal government is also storing and later 
searching the content of emails, text messages and phone calls of 
American citizens --all without a warrant.
   In the course of this collection, the data of American citizens, 
many of which have done nothing wrong or illegal, gets collected. That 
kind of reverse targeting of American citizens is not what Congress 
intended, is inconsistent with the Constitution, and it must stop. It's 
time for Congress to reign in this blatant violation of the Fourth 
Amendment and stop the warrantless searches of Americans. This issue--
protecting the Fourth Amendment--has unified liberals and 
conservatives. My colleague Congressman Lofgren and I may not agree on 
every issue before Congress, but we agree on this 100 percent.
   Earlier this year, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Congressman 
Thomas Massie (R-KY) and I introduced H.R. 2233, the End Warrantless 
Surveillance of Americans Act. The bill would prohibit warrantless 
searches of government databases for information that pertains to U.S. 
citizens. It would also forbid government agencies from mandating or 
requesting ``back doors'' into commercial products that can be used for 
surveillance. The legislation mirrors an amendment we offered to the 
USA Freedom Act when it came up last year.
   Failure to address this gaping loophole in FISA leaves the 
constitutional rights of millions of Americans vulnerable and 
unprotected. This bill also ensures that the federal government does 
not force companies to enable its spying activities. The NSA has and 
will continue to violate the constitutional protections guaranteed to 
every American unless Congress intervenes. Until we fix this and make 
the law clear, citizens can never be sure that their private 
conversations are safe from the eyes of the government. Last year, the 
House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed similar legislation as 
an amendment to DOD Appropriations and I unanimously passed one 
provision of this bill as an amendment to the DOJ appropriations bill. 
Yet, we have still not seen any action on the standalone bill. Why 
wouldn't Congress move on an issue that has so much bipartisan support?
   We need to push this standalone legislation and also push that 702 
be significantly reformed when FISA is reauthorized to ensure that 
information regarding American citizens can NEVER be searched by law 
enforcement unless it was collected through a search authorized by a 
warrant. Technology may change but the Constitution does not.
   It is our duty to make this right and ensure that the Fourth 
Amendment rights of the people we represent will no longer be trampled 
on by the NSA. The Fourth amendment right against unlawful search and 
seizure must be protected in both the physical and digital worlds at 
all times. Thank you for coming today and I look forward to working 
together to work towards this goal.
   And that is just the way it is.

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