Yesterday, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) and 80 bipartisan Members of the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 3361, the USA FREEDOM Act: United and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet Collection, and Online Monitoring Act. H.R. 3361 seeks to restore Americans' privacy rights by ending the government's bulk collection of phone records and requiring increased government oversight and public scrutiny of the government's domestic surveillance programs.
"It is clear that fundamental changes to the NSA's surveillance programs and the FISA Court are required to ensure the constitutional rights of the American people are protected," said Rep. Quigley. "Unlike previous efforts that merely cut off NSA funding, the USA FREEDOM Act makes substantive and responsible changes to the law that will protect our privacy rights and increase transparency. Every major recent victory in the fight against terrorism has come through vital intelligence gathering and good police work, and this bill strikes an appropriate balance between protecting our national security and protecting our constitutional rights."
The USA FREEDOM Act ends the bulk collection of Americans' communications records and increases transparency and oversight of surveillance programs and the FISA Court by making significant FISA Court decisions available to the public.
The bill also provides for the creation of a Special Advocate to focus on the protection of privacy rights and civil liberties before the FISA Court and strengthens the prohibition on "reverse targeting' of Americans - that is, targeting a non-U.S. person with the goal of obtaining communications to or from an American citizen.
Rep. Quigley is co-founder of the Congressional Transparency Caucus, which seeks to enact legislation that will bring openness and accessibility to the federal government, and he has a record of fighting for increased transparency of the FISA Court on the Judiciary Committee. In July, he and 187 Members of the House Democratic Caucus sent a letter asking President Obama to work with Congress to examine the operations of the NSA and consider amendments to existing law that strengthen the balance between national security and Americans civil liberties.