Extension of Authorities of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978

Floor Speech

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Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in actual opposition to the motion.

I rise in opposition to this clean reauthorization of FISA and, in particular, to this short-term authorization of FISA.

A short-term infringement of the Constitution is still an infringement of the Constitution. How long has the Senate had to act on this? Is this an emergency? Is this something we haven't known about? No.

I appreciate the work of my dear colleague and chairman of our committee, Mr. Jordan, on this issue for so many years of trying to get warrants before Americans are spied upon. In fact, my colleague on the other side of the aisle Zoe Lofgren and I, over a decade ago, were successful in passing an amendment to FISA, during the appropriations process, that would have prohibited funds to be used in the FISA program without a warrant.

What happened to that amendment? It died in the Senate. They have had over a decade to work on this.

What does FISA stand for? Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

This, when it was originated, was never meant to be used to surveil Americans or to search through databases for their information. It was intended for foreign intelligence. But now it is used on Americans without a warrant.

FISA databases have been used to query political activists, journalists, Members of Congress and their staff, and random romantic interests of FBI agents. We are told: Oh, don't worry. It is not being abused anymore. Maybe that is because they changed the definition of a query. So when they use the program anymore and abuse it, it is not a query by their definition so they don't have to tell you when they have violated the law. They are interpreting it differently.

As a matter of fact, there is a secret interpretation of how this law is used by the FBI, so secret that you have got to go three floors underground to read about it. We can't tell the American public exactly how they are being spied on, but it is a particularly nefarious way. I think it is also unconstitutional. I know it is also unconstitutional.

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Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, my friend and colleague on the Judiciary Committee and also on the Rules Committee, Chip Roy, has labored tirelessly to defend the constitutional rights of his constituents in Texas and all Americans.

After observing the FBI and other intelligence agencies spy on Members of Congress, including Members who are in this debate right now, I am at a loss to understand why both Democrats and Republicans are arguing for a clean reauthorization of this program that has clearly been used to overstep the boundaries of the other branch of government.

Mr. Speaker, what are we opposed to?

We are opposed to violating the Constitution. That is what is happening with FISA. It is happening with other provisions of law and court rulings.

Mr. Speaker, the third-party doctrine allows the government to go after your phone records without a warrant with a simple subpoena, go after your health records, and go after your bank records. That needs to be reformed.

We need to end the mandate on electronic kill switches in cars, the Orwellian technology that would be the judge, the jury, and the executioner, shut your car off midstream and mid-drive if some AI in your dashboard determines that you shouldn't be driving at that moment, Mr. Speaker, or maybe the government determines that.

There is a whole slew of ways that Americans' privacy, Fourth Amendment rights and other rights are being violated. Chief among them is the FISA 702 program. We should not do a clean reauthorization of this program.

Mr. Speaker, what would happen if you vote ``no'' today?

Maybe there are some people wondering: How will I vote?

Maybe they don't need my vote. Maybe it is going to pass. This has to pass with two-thirds vote.

What would happen if it did fail today?

The Senate would go back to work. They are trying to punt. They want to go home, leave town, and leave us with the work of this.

We have done our work. We have done it for years. We have sent them versions of this, and yet, they insist on another clean reauthorization.
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Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 261, nays 111, not voting 58, as follows: [Roll No. 155] YEAS--261 Aderholt Aguilar Alford Allen Amo Amodei (NV) Arrington Auchincloss Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Barr Barrett Bean (FL) Beatty Bentz Bergman Beyer Bice Bilirakis Bishop Bost Boyle (PA) Bresnahan Brown Brownley Budzinski Bynum Calvert Carbajal Carey Carter (GA) Carter (LA) Carter (TX) Case Casten Castor (FL) Ciscomani Cisneros Clark (MA) Cline Clyburn Cole Comer Courtney Crank Crawford Crenshaw Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis (NC) De La Cruz Dean (PA) DeLauro DelBene DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Dunn (FL) Edwards Ellzey Emmer Estes Evans (CO) Ezell Fallon Fedorchak Feenstra Figures Fine Finstad Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fletcher Flood Foster Foxx Franklin, Scott Fuller Garbarino Garcia (TX) Gill (TX) Gillen Golden (ME) Goldman (TX) Gonzalez, V. Gooden Goodlander Gottheimer Graves Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hamadeh (AZ) Harder (CA) Haridopolos Harrigan Harris (NC) Hern (OK) Hill (AR) Himes Hinson Houchin Houlahan Hoyer Hudson Huizenga Hunt Hurd (CO) Issa Jack Jackson (TX) Jacobs James Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (LA) Johnson (SD) Johnson (TX) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Kaptur Keating Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kennedy (NY) Kiggans (VA) Kiley (CA) Kim Knott Krishnamoorthi Kustoff LaHood Landsman Langworthy Larson (CT) Latimer Latta Lawler Lee (FL) Lee (NV) Leger Fernandez Liccardo Lucas Mackenzie Magaziner Malliotakis Maloy Mann Mast McBath McCaul McClain McClintock McCollum McCormick McDonald Rivet McDowell McGuire Meeks Messmer Meuser Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Moore (AL) Moore (NC) Moore (UT) Moore (WV) Moran Morelle Morrison Mrvan Murphy Nadler Neal Neguse Newhouse Norcross Nunn (IA) Obernolte Owens Palmer Panetta Pappas Patronis Pelosi Perez Peters Pfluger Pou Raskin Reschenthaler Riley (NY) Rivas Rogers (KY) Ross Rouzer Rulli Rutherford Salazar Scalise Schmidt Schneider Scholten Schrier Schweikert Scott, Austin Sessions Sewell Shreve Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Sorensen Soto Spartz Stanton Stauber Steil Strong Suozzi Sykes Taylor Tenney Thompson (MS) Thompson (PA) Timmons Trahan Tran Turner (OH) Valadao Van Drew Van Duyne Van Epps Van Orden Vasquez Veasey Wagner Walberg Walkinshaw Wasserman Schultz Waters Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Westerman Whitesides Wied Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Yakym Zinke NAYS--111 Adams Ansari Balint Begich Bell Biggs (SC) Boebert Bonamici Brecheen Burchett Cammack Carson Casar Chu Clarke (NY) Cloud Cohen Collins Correa Craig Crane Crockett Davidson Deluzio DeSaulnier Dexter Dingell Downing Elfreth Evans (PA) Foushee Friedman Frost Fry Fulcher Gomez Gosar Gray Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Hageman Harshbarger Hayes Higgins (LA) Horsford Hoyle (OR) Huffman Ivey Jackson (IL) Jayapal Kennedy (UT) Khanna Lee (PA) Levin Lieu Luttrell Mannion Massie Matsui McBride McClain Delaney McClellan McGarvey McGovern McIver Mejia Menefee Menendez Meng Mfume Miller (IL) Min Moore (WI) Mullin Ocasio-Cortez Ogles Omar Pallone Perry Pettersen Pingree Pocan Pressley Randall Roy Ruiz Ryan Salinas Sanchez Scanlon Scott (VA) Self Simon Stansbury Stevens Subramanyam Takano Thanedar Thompson (CA) Tiffany Titus Tokuda Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Underwood Vargas Velazquez Vindman Watson Coleman Williams (GA) NOT VOTING--58 Barragan Baumgartner Bera Biggs (AZ) Buchanan Burlison Castro (TX) Cleaver Clyde Conaway Costa Davis (IL) DeGette Doggett Donalds Escobar Espaillat Fields Fong Frankel, Lois Garamendi Garcia (CA) Garcia (IL) Gimenez Goldman (NY) Harris (MD) Kamlager-Dove Kean Kelly (IL) LaLota Larsen (WA) Letlow Lofgren Loudermilk Luna Lynch Mace Miller (OH) Mills Moskowitz Moulton Nehls Norman Olszewski Onder Quigley Ramirez Rogers (AL) Rose Schakowsky Sherman Smith (WA) Stefanik Steube Strickland Stutzman Tlaib Wilson (FL)

Ms. TOKUDA, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. POCAN, Mses. HAGEMAN and McCLELLAN changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''

Mr. FIGURES changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''

So (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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