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Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Limitations of NSA

Letter

By: Pedro Pierluisi, Janice Hahn, Jan Schakowsky, John Conyers, Jr., Loretta Sanchez, Diana DeGette, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Tim Walz, Jared Huffman, Gene Green, Jackie Speier, David Cicilline, Bill Owens, Bennie Thompson, Doris Matsui, Tim Bishop, Tim Ryan, Madeleine Bordallo, Gary Peters, Gerry Connolly, Luis Gutiérrez, Kathy Castor, Julia Brownley, Betty McCollum, Thomas Davis III, Judy Chu, Ben Luján, Jr., Brad Sherman, George Miller, Alan Lowenthal, John Lewis, Eni Faleomavaega, Hank Johnson, Jr., John Carney, Jr., Mike Honda, Xavier Becerra, Bobby Scott, Rosa DeLauro, Nancy Pelosi, John Tierney, Dina Titus, Bob Brady, Jim McGovern, Lois Frankel, Rick Larsen, Steven Horsford, Nita Lowey, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Scott Peters, Louise Slaughter, Mike Michaud, Steny Hoyer, Cheri Bustos, Joyce Beatty, Alan Grayson, Suzanne Bonamici, Yvette Clarke, Bill Enyart, Joaquin Castro, Eliot Engel, Jim Cooper, Mark Pocan, José Serrano, Ami Bera, Jerry Nadler, Mike Thompson, Ann Kirkpatrick, Donna Edwards, Tony Cárdenas, Jim Himes, John Delaney, Jared Polis, Ron Kind, Dan Maffei, Dutch Ruppersberger, Collin Peterson, Sean Maloney, Niki Tsongas, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Adam Smith, Cedric Richmond, Stephen Lynch, Brian Higgins, David Price, Beto O'Rourke, Jim Clyburn, Pete Visclosky, Barbara Lee, Dan Kildee, Joe Crowley, John Larson, Colleen Hanabusa, Sandy Levin, Grace Napolitano, Steve Israel, Grace Meng, Eric Swalwell, Mark Takano, Raul Grijalva, Annie Kuster, Keith Ellison, Carol Shea-Porter, Rob Andrews, Patrick Murphy, Ed Perlmutter, Adam Schiff, Steve Cohen, Elijah Cummings, Sam Farr, Joe Garcia, Gloria Negrete McLeod, Jim McDermott, Marc Veasey, Anna Eshoo, Corrine Brown, Jerry McNerney, Pete Gallego, Frederica Wilson, Matt Cartwright, Terri Sewell, Juan Vargas, Denny Heck, Lois Capps, Marcia Fudge, John Garamendi, Sheila Jackson Lee, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Derek Kilmer, Chaka Fattah, Sr., Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Kennedy III, Joe Courtney, Tulsi Gabbard, Raul Ruiz, Elizabeth Esty, Jim Langevin, Frank Pallone, Jr., Jim Matheson, Peter Welch, John Yarmuth, Eleanor Norton, Earl Blumenauer, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Suzan DelBene, Hakeem Jeffries, Bill Foster, Tammy Duckworth, Gwen Moore, Don Payne, Jr., Henry Waxman, Jim Moran, Jr., Eddie Johnson, Mike Quigley, Rick Nolan
Date: July 26, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Technology and Communication Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and 153 Members of the House Democratic Caucus sent the following letter to President Barack Obama today following the consideration of the Amash-Conyers amendment, which would have restricted the operations of the National Security Agency. The letter calls on President Obama to work with Congress to examine the operations of the NSA and consider amendments to existing law that strengthen the balance between our national security and Americans' civil liberties.

As the Members write in the letter, "Although some of us voted for and others against the amendment, we all agree that there are lingering questions and concerns about the current 215 collection program."

The Members state further that, "Congress must examine the various national security collection programs and consider amendments to the law. We have been assured that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has embarked on a review of the collection programs done pursuant to FISA and the Patriot Act, and has agreed to review various legislative proposals."

Below is the full text of the letter:

July 26, 2013

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for your leadership in honoring our responsibility to protect and defend the American people. As you know, our challenge as elected officials is to preserve Americans' liberties while protecting our national security.

This week, the House of Representatives considered an amendment offered by Representatives Amash and Conyers to H.R. 2397, the Fiscal Year 2014 Defense Appropriations bill. The Amash-Conyers amendment would have limited NSA's ability to collect bulk telecommunications records pursuant to Section 215 of the Patriot Act as codified in Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Although the amendment was defeated 205-217, it is clear that concerns remain about the continued implementation of the program in its current form.

Although some of us voted for and others against the amendment, we all agree that there are lingering questions and concerns about the current 215 collection program. These include:

- Whether the bulk metadata telecommunications collection program sufficiently protects the privacy and civil liberties of Americans.
- Whether the program could be tailored more narrowly to better ensure the protection of privacy and civil liberties.
- Whether the law is being implemented in a manner consistent with Congressional intent.
- How we can ensure greater transparency regarding FISA court operations, decision making, and issuance of orders.
- Whether changes to the current FISA Court structure are needed.

Congress must examine the various national security collection programs and consider amendments to the law. We have been assured that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has embarked on a review of the collection programs done pursuant to FISA and the Patriot Act, and has agreed to review various legislative proposals.

We look forward to working with you and Administration officials to address the concerns outlined above and to explore options which will preserve Americans' privacy and civil liberties while protecting our national security.

Thank you for your leadership and your attention to these concerns.

Sincerely,


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