[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 15 (Monday, January 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  FISA AMENDMENTS REAUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, providing for the security of the 
American people is one of our greatest responsibilities. I salute the 
officers and analysts in our intelligence community, who are integral 
in combating our adversaries and protecting our citizenry. The section 
702 Prograin, authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, 
FISA, is an essential tool in our fight against international 
terrorism.
  An equally great responsibility, however, is safeguarding the 
individual liberties enshrined in our Constitution, and it is this 
debate--the debate on the balance between national security and privacy 
protections--that is so fundamental to our Nation's history and our 
democracy.
  The proponents of FISA 702 reform raised a series of concerns about 
how the program could compromise the private communications of law-
abiding American citizens and proposed amendments to address those 
concerns. I believe the Senate should have had an opportunity to 
debate, consider and vote on those proposals before reauthorizing 
section 702 for 6 more years.
  Unfortunately, the Senate Republican leadership shuttered this 
critical debate by preventing amendments from consideration. For this 
reason, I voted against the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 
2017.

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