Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the distinguished ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Even in…”

“I thank the distinguished ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Even in this time of 2024, we need this legislation to protect now one of the most revered civil rights leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King. Yes, we need legislation that would, in fact, protect someone who simply wanted to provide justice to this Nation. He was the subject of COINTELPRO, a distorted investigation of his family, his belongings, his extended family members, and his wife, who I think at the time was expecting. This legislation is important to save lives. It is important legislation to ensure that our intelligence community, our law enforcement community, can do their jobs, but it is not legislation that should be utilized to abuse the American people. I rise today to speak of the concerns on H.R. 7888. It is a bipartisan bill to reauthorize an essential intelligence authority, section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, and other FISA provisions before they would expire on April 19. In doing so, we find ourselves being subject to the eye of the knife, if you will, in penetrating the personal matters of individuals that have no desire to do harm to this country. As we know all too well, expiration of 702 authorities would deprive our Federal Government of the necessary insight into precisely the threats Americans expect their government to identify and counter.…”