Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Chair, I rise concerning my vote on H.R. 4639.

This bill raises important issues that must be addressed by Congress. Law enforcement agencies should not be able to circumvent due process by buying information about the targets of their operations from third- party data brokers. The American people need a solution that covers federal, state, and local governments to ensure that their rights are fully protected.

During legislative negotiations on H.R. 4639, members raised concerns about conflicting possible interpretations of this bill that were not addressed before it came to the floor. As currently drafted, it is not clear whether H.R. 4639 appropriately covers federal, state, and local governments or whether the scope is limited to only cover the federal government. I also have concerns about restrictions that H.R. 4639 would impose on the Intelligence Community's ability to protect our national security by collecting data on foreign individuals operating abroad.

Given the ambiguity over the scope of H.R. 4639 and the challenges this bill would create for our ability to monitor foreign threats to the United States, I will vote PRESENT. I am hopeful these issues will be addressed by the Senate as they consider this legislation.

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