[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5388-5389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Paul):
  S. 823. A bill to ensure the digital contents of electronic equipment 
and online accounts belonging to or in the possession of United States 
persons entering or exiting the United States are adequately protected 
at the border, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I, along with my colleague Senator 
Paul from Kentucky, am introducing the Protecting Data at the Border 
Act, a bill that protects Americans and U.S. Permanent Residents from 
warrantless searches of their electronic devices at the border.
  In 2014, the Supreme Court established in California v. Riley that 
law enforcement agencies must obtain a probable cause search warrant 
before they can search someone's phone or laptop during a ``search 
incident to arrest.'' Prior to that decision, law enforcement agencies 
around the country routinely engaged in warrantless searches of phones 
and other electronic devices. The Supreme Court rightly recognized that 
we need new, stronger rules to protect digital information.
  Although the warrant protections from Riley have been the law of the 
land for the last three years, a significant loophole has remained: the 
border. The Riley decision left unresolved the question of whether or 
not U.S. Customs can search the smartphones and laptops of U.S. persons 
as they leave the country and return home. This is not a theoretical 
concern. According to recent statistics provided by Customs and Border 
Protection, searches of cellphones by border agents has exploded, 
growing fivefold in just one year, from fewer than 5,000 in 2015 to 
nearly 25,000 in 2016. Five-thousand devices were searched this last 
February alone, more than in all of 2015.
  My colleague, Senator Paul and I intend to close this loophole, 
ensuring that U.S. persons crossing the border do not have lesser 
digital privacy rights than individuals who are arrested inside the 
United States.
  This bill has four main components.
  First, it requires that law enforcement agencies obtain a probable 
cause warrant before they can search the laptop, smartphone or other 
electronic device belonging to a U.S. person at the border. The bill 
includes an emergency exception to this warrant requirement, modeled 
after USA Freedom Act section 102, which became law in 2015.
  Second, it requires informed, written consent before the government 
may request and obtain voluntary assistance from a U.S. person 
accessing data on a locked device or account, such as by disclosing 
their password or otherwise providing access. The bill also prohibits 
the government from delaying or denying entry to a U.S. person if he or 
she refuses to provide such assistance.
  Third, it requires that the government obtain a warrant before it can 
copy and retain a U.S. person's data, even if the data has been 
collected without a warrant, during an emergency.
  Fourth, it requires that the government create and publish statistics 
on the electronic border searches they conduct.
  Passage of this bill would ensure that the important privacy rights 
recognized by the Supreme Court in Riley also apply at the border, 
while still enabling law enforcement agencies continue to do the 
important work of keeping our country safe.
  I thank my colleague Senator Paul for his efforts on this bill, and I 
hope the Senate will consider our proposal quickly.
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      By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Booker, 
        Mr. Boozman, and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 826. A bill to reauthorize the Partners for Fish and Wildlife 
Program and certain wildlife conservation funds, to establish prize 
competitions relating to the prevention of wildlife poaching and 
trafficking, wildlife conservation, the management of invasive species, 
and the protection of endangered species, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise to speak about bipartisan 
legislation that I have introduced to promote innovative solutions to 
better manage invasive species, conserve wildlife, and eliminate 
poaching. I have introduced this in a bipartisan way as the chairman of 
the Environment and Public Works Committee, along with Senator Tom 
Carper, who is the ranking member of that committee, and along with 
Senator Jim Inhofe, who is a former chairman of that committee.
  This legislation is called the Wildlife Innovation and Longevity 
Driver Act, WILD for short. I am a supporter of both conserving 
wildlife and technological innovation that we have before us.
  My home State of Wyoming is truly one of the most beautiful places in 
the world. The people of Wyoming have an incredible appreciation for 
our wildlife. We applaud the efforts of innovators to help us conserve 
and manage species much more effectively and at a lower cost. Our State 
wildlife managers grapple with many challenges that innovators can help 
us solve.
  For example, poaching has been a major issue in Wyoming. Hundreds of 
animals are taken illegally in the State. That is what I hear from the 
Wyoming Game & Fish Department. Poaching is a problem across the 
country. It is not just the case in Wyoming; it has become pandemic 
overseas. International poachers seeking to cash in on the ivory trade 
have reduced the population of African elephants by 75 percent over the 
last 10 years. It is tragic.
  Invasive species also present a threat to native wildlife, to water 
resources, and to our landscape. Invasive species clog pipes and fuel 
catastrophic fires. In fact, invasive species have a role in 42 percent 
of the listings under the Endangered Species Act. It is invasive 
species that are causing other species to become endangered.
  We need creative solutions to these threats to our wildlife. Our 
Nation's innovators are developing cutting-edge technologies to help us 
more effectively fight poaching, manage wildlife, and control invasive 
species.
  A 2015 National Geographic article outlined a number of innovative 
technologies that are being used today to promote conservation of many 
of the world's most endangered species. That includes DNA analysis to 
identify the origin of illicit ivory supplies, using thermal imaging 
around protected areas to notify authorities of poachers, and using 
apps to assist wildlife enforcement in carrying out their duties.
  In December, the National Invasive Species Council cohosted a summit, 
which highlighted innovations that combat invasive species. A few 
examples are a fish passage that automatically extracts invasive fish 
from streams, DNA technologies to provide early detection of invasive 
species, and the use of drones to gain spatially accurate, high 
resolution images that could be used to detect and monitor specific 
invasive species. Innovations like these are why we have introduced in 
a bipartisan way the WILD Act.
  This act provides technological and financial assistance to private 
landowners to improve fish and wildlife habitats. The legislation does 
this by reauthorizing the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The 
WILD Act requires Federal agencies to implement strategic programs to 
control invasive species. It also reauthorizes important laws to 
protect endangered and valuable species around the world, such as the 
African elephant, the Asian elephant, the rhinoceros, the great ape, 
and the marine turtle.
  Finally, this act creates incentives for new conservation innovation. 
The legislation establishes four separate cash prizes for technological 
innovation in the prevention of wildlife poaching and trafficking, in 
the promotion of wildlife conservation, in the management of invasive 
species, and in

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the protection of endangered species. The Department of the Interior 
will administer the prizes, and a panel of relevant experts will award 
each prize.
  Innovation is one of the best tools in conserving endangered species 
and keeping invasive species under control. The WILD Act will help 
stimulate that innovation.
  I thank Senator Carper and Senator Inhofe for cosponsoring this 
important piece of legislation.
  Thank you.

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