Daines Fights to Protect Americans From NSA Mass Data Collection

Press Release

Congressman Steve Daines today called on Congress to end the ability of the National Security Administration (NSA) to collect mass amounts of metadata from Americans' phone records.

A member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Daines spoke on the House floor in support of an amendment to the 2014 Department of Defense Appropriations Act introduced by Congressman Justin Amash (R-Mich.) that ends the NSA's blanket collection of Americans' telephone records.

"After spending 12 years working in the technology sector--specifically cloud computing--I know firsthand the power that data holds. I also understand the potential for abuse and the threats to Americans' civil liberties that come with mass collections of data," Daines stated today on the House floor."Recent reports of the NSA blanket collection of Americans' phone records demonstrate the serious need for reforms to protect liberty and prevent abuse. That's why I'm proud to support Congressman Amash's amendment to prevent the NSA from using the Patriot Act to collect the records of Americans who are not subject to a Patriot Act investigation."

"This amendment helps protect law-abiding American from government overreach," Daines continued."The status quo is not acceptable and I hope that this amendment will be a driving force for much-needed reforms and greater transparency and accountability. We must always be vigilant and guarded against the overreach of power."

The Amash amendment is expected to receive a vote later this afternoon.

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