Mike Conaway: “Woman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. For over 3 years, the House Intelligence Committee posted…”

“Woman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. For over 3 years, the House Intelligence Committee posted bipartisan classified and unclassified education sessions for Members to learn about FISA section 702. FISA section 702 is a critical national security authority that has helped the United States collect vital intelligence on terrorists and other hostile actors located overseas. After vigorous debate, we were able to pass a bipartisan, bicameral compromise bill in the last Congress that preserved the operational flexibility of section 702 while instituting reforms to further protect U.S. persons' privacy. President Trump signed this legislation into law in January of 2018. The amendment today seeks to reopen a debate that was settled last Congress. Rather than debating this issue within the relevant committees of jurisdiction, however, Members who lost the debate last year now seek to have another bite at that apple to subvert the legislative process by bypassing those committees. If passed, I fear this amendment will have devastating consequences on our national security. First, the amendment creates new, strict requirements on targeting of foreign actors overseas just because the hostile foreign actor is communicating with an associate in the United States.…”