Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the Cline (VA)/Jackson Lee (TX) Amendment [#3] to H.R. 7888--Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA). This amendment does something Congress should have done seven years ago: prohibit the government from resuming ``abouts'' collection, a form of Section 702 surveillance that poses unique risks to Americans. ``Abouts'' collection is the collection of communications that are neither To nor From an approved target of surveillance under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), but merely contain information relating to that target. In the past, ``abouts'' collection focused on collecting communications that include a target's email address, or phone address, or Twitter handle, or something like that. But in theory, ``abouts'' collection could be used to collect emails that merely mention a person who is a target of Section 702 surveillance. Nothing in the text or legislative history of Section 702 indicates that this type of surveillance is authorized. Under Section 702, the surveillance must target a non-U.S. person outside the United States. The term ``target'' has a well-understood meaning. When a person is a target, it means the government can collect that person's information or other data, not the communications or data of other individuals. As we all know, ``abouts'' collection under Section 702 has a sordid history.…”