Jeff Flake: “I thank Mr. Schiff for yielding, and I appreciate working with him on this important amendment and on this issue for a…”

“I thank Mr. Schiff for yielding, and I appreciate working with him on this important amendment and on this issue for a long time. Madam Chairman, this amendment would reiterate that FISA is the exclusive means by which domestic electronic surveillance can be conducted for the purpose of gathering foreign intelligence information. As has been stated before, we have, on the Judiciary Committee, for years been asking the administration what can we not do within FISA, do we need to change FISA in order to be able to conduct surveillance we need within FISA. We have never been given compelling information or evidence why we can't do what we need to do within FISA. As Mr. Schiff mentioned, if we do need to change FISA to update it again, as it has been changed and updated multiple times, then we should do it. However, we simply can't say FISA is insufficient; so go around it, and we don't want to know what goes on outside of it. Go ahead with the Terrorist Surveillance Program. We will have no congressional oversight. That is simply unacceptable. If we do need to change FISA, if we do need to modernize it, let's modernize it again, again, and again. But let's make sure that Congress maintains its prerogative to regulate the surveillance that goes on to make sure that it is done with civil liberties in mind. That is what this amendment seeks to do, and I am pleased to work with Mr. Schiff on it.”