Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, as the underlying bill was being developed, those of us on both sides of the aisle were concerned about constitutional protections, the preservation of our representative Republic, and the core principles of individual rights, liberties, freedoms, and privacies that our representative Republic relies upon and our citizenry anticipates and expects, rightfully so, that their Congress shall protect.

As the underlying bill was being developed, there were concerns communicated from law enforcement and citizens across the country, at the local level especially, and there began an effort, a very good- faith effort, across the spectrum politically here in this body to address those concerns. That is what my amendment does.

The Fourth Amendment specifically calls for probable cause to be necessary for a warrant particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

My amendment seeks to address the concerns of law enforcement. We have sworn an oath to protect our Constitution, but we are bound by duty to protect the communities that we serve. Therefore, legitimate investigations are required. Consistent with that ethic, I propose my amendment to not include as a covered record the following items to ensure that law enforcement has the clarity to know that they will continue to have the tools they need to succeed:

Records made available to the general public on social media. This remains available to law enforcement, as clarified by my amendment.

Records made lawfully available through government records or widely distributed media. This remains available to local law enforcement and is clarified in my amendment.

Records wherein consent has been given by the citizen or the business for the government to access for a background check. This remains undisturbed and is clarified by my amendment.

Records generated by public or private ALPRs, automated license plate recognition systems. This is a very important consideration that law enforcement was concerned about. Again, my amendment clarifies and addresses the fact that this right for legitimate investigation through ALPR remains undisturbed.

I encourage full support of my amendment from my colleagues.

Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls), my friend and colleague of the Thin Blue Line.

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Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

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Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, 15 seconds, for a gentleman from Louisiana, is just about enough time to say thank you.

Mr. Chair, I encourage support of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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