Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and Mr. Himes, too, for their joint leadership on this important task that we have before us today.

Mr. Speaker, here on the eve of 25 years since September 11, we come to this House floor to, once again, ensure that we have the tools in place to protect the homeland from foreign attacks.

Section 702 sets out these very specific boundaries and process where the United States Government collects the electronic communications from foreign nationals outside the U.S. It allows the U.S. to collect that intelligence on bad actors to prevent the reoccurrence of 9/11, but there is a lot of misinformation about section 702, Mr. Speaker.

First, it is used to surveil foreign nationals abroad. It is not targeted at Americans.

Secondly, it is not warrantless surveillance. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of this program.

Warrant requirements are created under the Fourth Amendment. They apply inside the United States. This is not a program that operates within the boundaries of the United States. It targets foreign nationals outside of the United States.

This is so important, as demonstrated by Mr. Hoyer, that we have clear, active protections on how this program is used to target foreign nationals with those protections to protect Americans' privacy under the Fourth Amendment. This bill is that balance, as described by the gentleman from Connecticut and my colleague from Arkansas.

Mr. Speaker, let's put America's safety first. Let's keep the homeland security paramount. It is critical. Let's support and pass S. 1318. I urge my colleagues to join me in that effort.

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