President Joe Biden’s White House has shot down a massive bipartisan bill to reform America’s surveillance laws — without reading the sweeping proposal that is backed by lawmakers across the spectrum.
Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced on Tuesday the Government Surveillance Reform Act, a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that includes new protections for Americans’ constitutional rights.
Section 702 will expire at the end of the end of the year, setting up a high-stakes battle between privacy-oriented lawmakers and those sympathetic to the intelligence agencies, such as the Biden White House.
Section 702 is a law that allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of targeted foreigners. It also may lead to targeted surveillance of Americans’ private communications, which privacy advocates consider a run around the Fourth Amendment’s requirement for a warrant to search Americans’ communications.
Although the legislation has received support from a swathe of lawmakers, as well as support from privacy groups across the political spectrum, the Biden White House held a press call to “pre-butt” the FISA reform bill. An official called the bill’s requirement for a warrant for a search of a United States person’s (USP) communications a “red line” and said it would undermine national security.
However, as Politico reported, the official later admitted the White House has yet to read the bill they so vehemently oppose.
Lee reacted, “Joe Biden wants to veto our bipartisan government surveillance reform bill, because apparently illegal spying on American citizens is very important to his administration. And he hasn’t even read the bill yet!”
Joe Biden wants to veto our bipartisan government surveillance reform bill, because apparently illegal spying on American citizens is very important to his administration.
And he hasn’t even read the bill yet! https://t.co/cSpbsvn7XQ
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) November 7, 2023
Lee also said any attempt to reauthorize 702 without reforms is “not going to happen.”
“For decades, U.S. Intelligence agencies have been circumventing our 4th Amendment right to privacy by spying on Americans without a warrant,” Davidson said in a written statement. “The government Surveillance Accountability Act would end abuses under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and end unauthorized surveillance programs.”
Lofgren said:
It would be unwise for Members of Congress to greenlight another major surveillance reauthorization without carefully considering and enacting surveillance reform measures. For too long, federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies have had nearly unchecked access to Americans’ personal data. Our bipartisan, bicameral comprehensive and calibrated legislation provides reform solutions sought for decades. With widespread support from across the political spectrum the Government Surveillance Reform Act would dramatically curb surveillance abuse and protect Americans’ civil liberties, while preserving national security.
“Americans know that it is possible to confront our country’s adversaries ferociously without throwing our constitutional rights in the trash can. But for too long surveillance laws have not kept up with changing times,” Wyden explained.
Lee said:
The FISA Court and the Director of National Intelligence have confirmed that our government conducted warrantless surveillance of millions of Americans’ private communications. It is imperative that Congress enact real reforms to protect our civil liberties, including warrant requirements and statutory penalties for privacy violations, in exchange for reauthorizing Section 702. Our bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act stops illegal government spying and restores the Constitutional rights of all Americans.
Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Judy Chu (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Lou Correa (D-CA), and Ted Lieu (D-CA) cosponsored the bill.
WATCH — Pramila Jayapal Hounds FBI over FISA Practices, Purchasing Private American Data as Run-Around of the 4th Amendment:
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Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Jon Tester (D-MT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Edward Markey (D-MA) also backed the bill.
The bill, according to a press release from Lofgren’s office, would:
- Close the backdoor search loophole: The bill requires law enforcement to secure a warrant before searching U.S. individuals’ data.
- Close the data broker loophole: The bill prevents law enforcement from sidestepping the Fourth Amendment by outlawing the purchase of U.S. individuals’ data from brokers without a warrant.
- Prohibit reverse targeting: The bill prohibits the monitoring of foreign individuals outside the U.S. as a pretext to surveil U.S. persons within the country, known as “reverse targeting.”
- End “abouts” collection: The bill terminates the practice of gathering non-U.S. citizens’ communications that merely reference U.S. persons, curbing mass, warrantless surveillance of Americans.
- Enhance oversight and accountability: The bill stipulates stricter auditing, reporting, and redress processes, promoting responsibility and transparency across intelligence activities.
- Curtail overreach in Section 702 data use: The bill ensures that data collected under Section 702 is not used in criminal or civil cases unless directly connected to national security threats, thus avoiding its application in unrelated legal contexts.
- Halt warrantless collection of business records: The bill enhances the personal data security of working individuals by disallowing warrantless surveillance of businesses.
Groups across the spectrum back the bill, including:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), AAPI Equity Alliance, AAPI Victory Alliance, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans for Prosperity, API Equality-LA, Asian American Federal Employees for Nondiscrimination (AAFEN), Asian Texans for Justice, Aurora Commons LLC, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Center for Democracy & Technology, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Demand Progress, Due Process Institute, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities, Fight for the Future, FreedomWorks, Free Press Action, Libertas Institute, Media Alliance, Muslim Advocates, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), Oakland Privacy, OCA, OCA Greater Cleveland – Asian Pacific American Advocates, OCA Silicon Valley, Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability (PPSA), Project on Government Oversight (POGO), Restore the Fourth, Secure Justice, Stop AAPI Hate, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project and X-Lab.
This is the latest move to rein in government surveillance. The House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation that would bar the federal government from circumventing the Fourth Amendment by purchasing Americans’ data without a warrant.
The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included Davidson’s amendment that would bar the Pentagon from purchasing Americans’ data.
WATCH — Rep. Andy Biggs: CDC Purchased $420k Worth of Data to Surveil Americans During the Coronavirus Pandemic:
U.S. House of Representatives
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.