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Statement of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte Markup of H.R. 1428, the Judicial Redress Act

September 17, 2015
Chairman Goodlatte:  I would like to begin by thanking Mr. Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers for introducing this important, bi-partisan legislation to help ensure that the flow of law enforcement information between the European Union and the United States continues unimpeded. In recent years, several broad and highly publicized leaks of classified U.S. intelligence information have eroded the global public’s trust in the United States government and our technology sector.  As a result, both the federal government and U.S. businesses that operate overseas are facing growing challenges from proposals to limit the international flow of data. Our allies in Europe, in particular, are concerned that the European public will no longer support law enforcement cooperation with U.S. authorities if we do not enact legislation to restore their public’s trust in U.S. privacy protections.  Moreover, American businesses across all sectors face negative commercial consequences abroad as a result of the climate that has been created by the unauthorized disclosures of classified data. H.R. 1428, the Judicial Redress Act, can go a long way toward restoring our allies’ faith in U.S. data privacy protections and helping facilitate agreements, such as the Data Protection and Privacy Agreement that strengthen privacy interests. According to the Department of Justice, the Judicial Redress Act is critical to reestablishing a trusting relationship between the European Union and the United States, to ensuring continued strong law enforcement cooperation between the United States and Europe, and to preserving the ability of American companies to do business internationally. The Judicial Redress Act accomplishes this by granting citizens of designated foreign countries a limited number of civil remedies against the federal government similar to those already provided U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents under the Privacy Act.  This legislation is narrowly tailored in that it only applies with respect to information obtained through international law enforcement channels and that any lawsuit brought pursuant to this bill is subject to the same terms and restrictions that apply to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents under the Privacy Act. If this legislation is enacted, citizens of designated foreign governments will be able to sue the United States in federal district court with respect to intentional and willful public disclosures of law enforcement information by the federal government that injure those citizens.  Additionally, for information that is not subject to an exemption under the Privacy Act, covered foreign citizens will be able to seek redress for failures by the federal government to grant access to records or to amend incorrect records.  American citizens are already afforded these types of judicial redress rights in many foreign countries. Although these may be limited civil remedies against the United States government, they will provide European citizens with the core benefits of the Privacy Act and, in so doing, will greatly help to restore the public trust necessary for the continued success of our law enforcement cooperation with Europe.  The bill will also facilitate adoption of the Data Protection and Privacy Agreement and promote a healthy environment for U.S. companies that do business overseas. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Find out more about today’s hearing here.