Bachus Comments on Surveillance Oversight Hearing

Press Release

Congressman Spencer Bachus (AL-6) today participated in a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the federal government's foreign surveillance programs.

The hearing focused on potential reforms to intelligence gathering programs, including the bulk metadata storage of telephone records, which have been detailed in news reports over recent months. Lead witnesses included U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole and representatives from two groups that have issued studies on the issue, Peter Swire of the Review Group on Communications and Information Technology and David Medine of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. During his questioning, Bachus asked witnesses to discuss the court standards that apply to cases considered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), privacy expectations in the wake of evolving technology and social media use, and the access of foreign entities to stored information.

After the hearing, Congressman Bachus said, "As a congressman, I am of the opinion that we have an urgency to defend ourselves against terrorists. There is also a balance that needs to be struck between collecting information that could stop an attack like 9/11 and protecting the constitutional rights of American citizens. It is important that officials from the Justice Department and our intelligence agencies, especially, appear before Congress to answer questions about these programs as we move forward in evaluating legislation."

In the House, the primary jurisdiction over the legal framework of surveillance programs rests with the Judiciary Committee.

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