Capito: RESTORE Act Compromises National Security

Press Release

Capito: RESTORE Act Compromises National Security

Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today criticized Democratic-sponsored legislation that would weaken the capabilities of our nation's intelligence community by reversing reforms to modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

"This truly is a RESTORE Act," noted Capito. "It will restore rights for foreign terrorists at the expense of the American public. Overseas terrorists are adapting to modern technology. Meanwhile, this law would prevent our intelligence community from adapting in turn. The House passed legislation in August to modernize our intelligence laws, and this bill completely reverses that progress."

The Protect America Act - which passed the House in August - closed the "terrorist loophole" which previously prevented our nation's intelligence community from monitoring certain types of terrorist communications.

Because of advances in communications technology, many phone calls placed from one international number to another international number are routed through the United States. Prior to passage of the Protect America Act, the outdated FISA law forced American intelligence agencies to get a warrant before listening to these conversations - even those between one terrorist in Iraq and another in Iran - simply because the phone lines happen to run through the United States.

The RESTORE Act would re-open that loophole and reinstate road blocks to our intelligence gathering capabilities.

Capito said that our laws should protect the rights of American citizens, not the rights of foreign terrorists.

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