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Lofgren Statement on FISA Reauthorization Vote

May 27, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), issued the below statement on her planned vote in favor of the Senate amendment to H.R. 6172, the USA Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2020:

"I am voting for the FISA reauthorization bill today that includes the Lee-Leahy amendment that improves privacy protections by increasing the use of the amici curiae and broadening their access to information. That is a policy I have proposed before and it is significant step forward in protecting Americans' civil liberties.

"I've been working for more than 15 years to secure bipartisan reforms to Section 215 and FISA that protect Americans' Fourth Amendment rights, and I plan to continue the fight to curb all FISA abuses now and in the future."

Prior Actions

On May 26, 2020, Lofgren announced an agreed-upon Lofgren-Davidson 2.0 amendment that was negotiated with House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff that would prohibit the collection of Americans' internet search history and web browsing data without a warrant.

On May 20, 2020, Lofgren and Warren Davidson (R-OH-8) urged House leaders to allow a vote on Lofgren-Davidson 1.0, a companion Wyden-Daines amendment, when issuing a rule for the Senate amendment to H.R. 6172, the USA Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2020.

On May 13, 2020, ahead of the Senate Floor vote, Lofgren and Warren Davidson (R-OH-8), sent a letter to Senate leaders in support of the Lee-Leahy and Wyden-Daines amendments.

On March 16, 2020, Lofgren and Davidson sent a letter urging Senators to reject the unamended version of the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act.

On March, 10, 2020, Lofgren and Davidson announced their support for two bipartisan bills, S. 3420 and S. 3421, introduced by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VA) that provide two paths forward for NSA surveillance reform.

On February 27, 2020, following the postponement of the markup for H.R. ___, the "USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020," in the House Judiciary Committee the day before, Lofgren and Davidson sent a letter to Chairman Jerrold Nadler urging him to schedule a markup of their bipartisan bill, H.R. 5675.

On January 24, 2020, Lofgren, Davidson and a coalition of bipartisan Representatives joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) in introducing bicameral surveillance reform legislation that:

  • closes loopholes and strengthens oversight to prevent government overreach and abuse;
  • permanently ends the indiscriminate collection of massive amounts of domestic communications;
  • prohibits warrantless collection of geolocation and web browsing data by intelligence agencies; and
  • ensures the Intelligence Community is held to the standards established under the Fourth Amendment.

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