On the recordJune 19, 2014
I want to thank Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, and the other sponsors of this amendment for their continued leadership on the effort to roll back dragnet surveillance of United States citizens. Last month, a broad, bipartisan majority passed H.R. 3361, the USA FREEDOM Act. That bill rightly ends domestic bulk collection. But, as I said then, ending bulk collection is only part of the work that must be done to fully reform government surveillance. This amendment closes the ``backdoor surveillance'' loophole--through which the government queries U.S. person information without a warrant. This amendment also prohibits the government from mandating the creation of vulnerabilities in commercial products and services for later exploitation. Together, these changes end two demonstrated threats to our privacy and civil liberties--without any measurable loss to our national security. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
