House Judiciary Committee Applauds Bipartisan Passage of H.R. 6570, the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA) applauded the passage of H.R. 6570, the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act, out of the Committee by a vote of 35 to 2.
The bipartisan bill reauthorizes Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for three years with significant reforms, requires all intelligence agencies and the FBI to obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) before conducting any query of a U.S. person, brings much-needed reforms to the FISC, increases transparency, and ensures that those who violate the civil liberties of Americans will be held accountable for their actions. The bill now heads to the House Floor for consideration.
“Today’s passage of H.R. 6570 is a meaningful step in making reforms to FISA that are long overdue. The bill enacts significant protections for Americans and ensures that they are not subjected to unchecked surveillance by the federal government,” said Chairman Jordan.
“I am proud to have joined with Chairman Jordan and Mr. Biggs on this important, comprehensive, and necessary legislation. The overwhelming bipartisan vote in markup today says it all. This is a bill that the House can rally around—and with 702 set to sunset just weeks from now, I urge Speaker Johnson to bring our consensus legislation to the floor without delay,” said Ranking Member Nadler.
“I am grateful to my colleagues for advancing one of the most consequential pieces of legislation ever related to ending government surveillance abuse,” said Subcommittee Chairman Biggs. “The overwhelming, bipartisan vote in favor of this legislation confirms a mutual interest in protecting our Fourth Amendment privacy rights from rogue intelligence actors. Our FISA 702 spying authorities must be used for national security purposes—not nefarious ones. I urge Speaker Johnson to immediately bring this legislation to the House Floor for a vote and call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this package. Any effort to stall consideration or pass a clean extension of the current FISA authorities is a punishment of the American people.”
“We created our government to protect us from those who would do us harm, but the Founders recognized that we also had to protect ourselves against abuses by that government. This is why we have the Fourth Amendment, which this bill restores for a digital age,” said Subcommittee Chairman McClintock.
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