Rodney Frelinghuysen: “This amendment would impose greater restrictions on the intelligence community's ability to protect our national…”

“This amendment would impose greater restrictions on the intelligence community's ability to protect our national security and create an impediment to the government's ability to locate threat information already in its possession. Such an impediment, therefore, would put a lot more American lives at risk both at home and abroad. Colleagues, as recent events have tragically reminded us, this issue is critical to our national security. Lawful queries can enable analysts to identify potential terror plots, to identify foreign nations trying to hack into our networks, to locate foreign intelligence officers spying within our borders, and, yes, to locate hostage victims. These authorities were fully considered, as they should be, and we will hear in a moment from Chairman Goodlatte during the development and the consideration of the USA FREEDOM Act. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky), my ranking member.”