Today, Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced the Surveillance State Repeal Act (H.R. 1466). The legislation would repeal federal mass surveillance laws.
For Immediate Release
Lorenz.Isidro@mail.house.gov
Tuesday March 24, 2015
(202) 225-3465
U.S. Representatives Pocan & Massie Introduce Legislation to Repeal PATRIOT Act
Legislation Would End Unconstitutional Mass Collection of Personal Communications
— Today, Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced the Surveillance State Repeal Act (H.R. 1466). The legislation would repeal federal mass surveillance laws.
“The Patriot Act contains many provisions that violate the Fourth Amendment and have led to a dramatic expansion of our domestic surveillance state,” said Congressman Massie. "Our Founding Fathers fought and died to stop the kind of warrantless spying and searches that the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act authorize. It is long past time to repeal the Patriot Act and reassert the constitutional rights of all Americans. I am proud to co-sponsor Congressman Pocan’s bill and look forward to working with him on this issue.”
“The warrantless collection of millions of personal communications from innocent Americans is a direct violation of our constitutional right to privacy,” said Congressman Pocan. “Revelations about the NSA’s programs reveal the extraordinary extent to which the program has invaded Americans’ privacy. I reject the notion that we must sacrifice liberty for security- we can live in a secure nation which also upholds a strong commitment to civil liberties. This legislation ends the NSA’s dragnet surveillance practices, while putting provisions in place to protect the privacy of American citizens through real and lasting change.”
Background
The Surveillance State Repeal Act, H.R. 1466, offers a complete repeal of the 2001 PATRIOT Act, which the NSA has cited as the legal basis for its phone metadata harvesting surveillance program. Additionally, the bill repeals the FISA Amendments Act, which contains provisions for email data harvesting. H.R 1466 also makes retaliation against federal national security whistleblowers illegal and ensures any FISA collection against a U.S. person takes place only pursuant to a valid warrant based on probable cause.
