Citizen Empowerment Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. I thank the ranking member for yielding me this time.

I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2711, the so-called Citizen Empowerment Act, that has been brought to this floor without a hearing.

While I do understand that the legislation purports to address accountability and transparency in the Federal Government, I am greatly concerned that H.R. 2711, in its current form, will actually have quite the opposite effect.

In particular, this bill would allow the recording of any telephonic or in-person conversation with a Federal employee that is conducted in an official capacity. Regrettably, however, the bill does not include critical exemptions pertaining to the discussion of classified information or conversations relating to sensitive Federal law enforcement or public safety investigations.

In light of this significant flaw in the bill, our Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association has underscored that, rather than enhance accountability in government, this bill would actually have a chilling effect on the ability of Federal law enforcement officers to perform their duties.

According to the association--and I'll quote them:

Put simply, this legislation does not work in the context of Federal law enforcement and does a disservice to the brave men and women who are asked to put their lives on the line to protect us from terrorists and criminals.

For this same reason, the bill is also opposed by the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys. Moreover, this legislation actually is evidence of a shift away from a greater transparency by failing to include a requirement that Federal employees receive fair notice that their official conversations are being recorded.

Importantly, 12 States, including my home State of Massachusetts, have enacted State laws requiring the consent of both parties to a conversation to give their consent. These States' efforts have been undertaken in the interest of government transparency. Regrettably, this legislation would unfortunately serve to undermine them and preempt them.

In addition, I would note that this bill would also serve to promulgate the severely misguided notion that our Federal workforce is not to be trusted.

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Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentleman.

Let us remember that our Federal employees are dedicated public personnel who work at our veterans hospitals. I have three hospitals in my district. I know how hard they work. They protect our borders. They research cures for deadly diseases and provide key services in support of our Departments of Defense, State, and Treasury. They deserve better than this, Mr. Speaker. They deserve better than this legislation. I hope my colleagues vote against it.

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Mr. LYNCH. The gentleman misunderstands. The Federal employee doesn't know what is going to come out of the caller's mouth next, so classified information can come without notice.

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