Former House Judiciary Committee Chairmen Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) endorsed the House Judiciary Committee-advanced bill, the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act.
Goodlatte and Smith on December 8 sent their letter, which was obtained by Breitbart News, to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Republicans. They charged that the Protect Liberty Act could be one of the most consequential bills to protect civil liberties in “several generations”:
The American people are growing increasingly concerned about government surveillance practices that treat privacy as a luxury and the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution as a nuisance. The Protect Liberty Act is the most important government surveillance reform measure in several generations, taking incredible strides to put an end to abuses that have persisted for far too long.
The Protect Liberty Act sets forth a robust warrant requirement for U.S. person searches under FISA Section 702, with reasonable exceptions for emergencies, consent, and cybersecurity-related searches. It is the only alternative to be considered by the House that makes this crucial reform. The FBI’s abuses under Section 702 are well-documented. It has been used to spy on millions of Americans in the last few years alone, including judges, sitting Members of Congress, 19,000 donors to a congressional campaign, and countless others. [Emphasis added]
The chairmen sent their letter to lawmakers before the House will consider the Protect Liberty Act, and the House Intelligence Committee surveillance reform bill, the FISA Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2023.
Republicans and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly voted last week to advance the bill, which aims to reform Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and other government surveillance authorities.
Section 702 is a law that allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of targeted foreigners. It also may lead to targeted surveillance of Americans’ private communications, which privacy advocates consider a run around the Fourth Amendment’s requirement for a warrant to search Americans’ communications. The law will expire at the end of 2023.
WATCH — Jim Jordan: There are 204k Reasons to Oppose FISA Reauthorization:
House Committee on the Judiciary / YouTubeThe Protect Liberty is backed by lawmakers across the political spectrum, including Jim Jordan (R-OH), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), and Russell Fry (R-SC). Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) served as the primary sponsor of the bill.
The two former Judiciary Committee chairmen also credited the bill for closing the data broker loophole which allows government agencies to buy Americans’ geolocation data and other sensitive information from data brokers.
“Reforming FISA Section 702 without closing the data broker loophole would in all likelihood simply shift the government’s intrusive surveillance from one mechanism to the other,” the chairmen wrote.
Goodlatte and Smith contended that the Protect Liberty Act serves as the proper balance between protecting civil liberties and reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to conduct surveillance of potential foreign adversaries:
The Protect Liberty Act also requires amici participation in FISA cases to protect the public and the Constitution, and it includes a host of other reforms to safeguard our constitutional rights against intrusive and unreasonable government surveillance. It has won widespread, bipartisan support because it is a well-crafted and balanced bill.
As the Protect Liberty Act demonstrates, we can protect our national security and also safeguard our constitutional rights. We can restore the rule of law, while reauthorizing Section 702 to allow legitimate foreign intelligence surveillance. There is absolutely no need to let the Administration continue to trample on our Fourth Amendment freedoms.
The legislation is also backed by prominent privacy advocates, including Americans for Prosperity, Demand Progress, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Restore the Fourth, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, and the America First Policy Institute.
WATCH — Mike Lee: Congress Cannot Trust FBI Because It Has Not Fired Agents Who Violated Americans’ Rights:
Senate Judiciary Committee“The Judiciary Committee’s Protect Liberty Act is the right way to rebuild the trust of the American people, by respecting their constitutional rights while safeguarding our national security,” the two chairmen wrote.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
