Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Co-Sponsors Bipartisan Bill to Reform NSA Spying Policies
Press Release
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) today co-sponsored a bill to improve privacy protections for Americans and rein in the National Security Administration's (NSA) sweeping domestic surveillance programs. The USA FREEDOM Act primarily targets reforms to Section 215 of the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act, which has been widely blamed for the bulk collection of innocent Americans' personal data.
"The NSA's blatant violations of personal privacy and freedoms -- and abuse of the USA PATRIOT Act's original intent -- are absolutely unacceptable," said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who has repeatedly expressed concerns about the NSA's surveillance programs, and spoke in support of an Amash-Conyers proposal to strip funding from the NSA in July. "The USA FREEDOM Act is the first piece of major legislation in Congress designed to make necessary reforms to the sweeping surveillance programs which violate basic levels of personal privacy of the American people. As recent headlines continue to reveal, we still do not know how extensive and invasive these programs truly are. The American people deserve a balanced solution that focuses on keeping our country safe, and ensuring the protection of our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms."
The USA FREEDOM Act targets four key areas of surveillance reform which would end the dragnet collection of Americans' phone records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and ensure that other authorities cannot be used to justify similar dragnet collection. The bill also provides more safeguards for warrantless surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act, includes significant privacy and oversight provisions, creates a Special Advocate to focus on the protection of privacy rights and civil liberties before the FISA Court, and requires more detailed public reporting about the numbers and types of FISA orders that are issued.
The USA FREEDOM Act was introduced in the House today by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the author of the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act.
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