Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment. I respect and share the sponsor's commitment to privacy and civil liberties, but this amendment would go vastly beyond the legislation advanced by either the Intelligence Committee or the Judiciary Committee. It would prevent the intelligence community from querying lawfully collected 702 information, even in situations directly related to counterterrorism and national security. It would make section 702 a far less effective tool at a significant cost to the national security of the United States. The amendment would require a probable cause warrant or its equivalent before the government can query lawfully collected 702 data in an effort to find communications concerning someone who may be a U.S. person or a foreign person located in the United States even when such person is communicating with foreign terrorists or intelligence targets. Probable cause will be lacking in many, if not most, intelligence and counterterrorism contexts. In such situations, the USA RIGHTS Act would prevent the government from detecting and disrupting plots against Americans or identifying and preventing foreign espionage on our soil. It would also require publication of information related to 702 certifications that would disclose the sources and methods of intelligence gathering, imperilling our ability to obtain foreign intelligence information. That, to me, poses an intolerably high risk.…”