Earlier today, the Rules Committee posted notice of a meeting on S. 139, a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The proposal is scheduled for consideration by the House next week. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, issued the following statement in reaction to the bill:
“This so-called ‘reform’ bill was written by the intelligence community, for the intelligence community, which is why it fails to accomplish any meaningful reform to Section 702 or ensure our constitutional right to privacy—unlike the bipartisan and overwhelmingly supported bill that passed the House Judiciary Committee.
“The new warrant requirement in this bill, such as it is, is a fig leaf for reform and fails to address the vast majority of searches of 702 information—and we know this because the FBI admitted as much to us earlier today.
“I, along with the many Members from both sides of the aisle who wanted real reform to Section 702, will oppose S. 139, which is a warmed-over version of a bill that has already been panned by companies, as well as the privacy and civil liberties community. I urge my colleagues to instead support any amendment to this bill that would achieve reasonable, meaningful reforms. I urge my colleagues to instead support amendments to this bill that would achieve reasonable, meaningful reforms.”
