Huffman, Bipartisan Members Introduce Legislation to Reform National Security Laws

October 29, 2013

WASHINGTON­—Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) today joined a bipartisan group of more than 70 House Members in introducing legislation to reform U.S. national security laws and end the wide-ranging surveillance of Americans by the National Security Agency (NSA). This legislation, known as the USA FREEDOM Act, comes after recent revelations that the NSA has tapped the phones of leaders of allied nations and regularly intruded on the civil liberties of Americans by collecting their "metadata" telephone records.

“Recent revelations about American intelligence agencies conducting indiscriminate surveillance on U.S citizens and even leaders of friendly nations confirm what I have long believed:  it’s time to swing the pendulum back in the direction of protecting privacy and civil liberties.  I'm proud to cosponsor this bipartisan bill, which takes an important step in that direction.” Congressman Huffman said.

The USA FREEDOM Act would end the dragnet collection of Americans’ phone records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and ensure that other authorities cannot be used to justify similar collection. The bill also provides more safeguards for warrantless surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act.

The bill includes other significant privacy and oversight provisions, provides for the creation of a Special Advocate to focus on the protection of privacy rights and civil liberties before the FISA Court, and requires more detailed public reporting about the numbers and types of FISA orders that are issued.

The USA Freedom Act has been endorsed a number of organizations, including the ACLU, Mozilla,  the Brennan Center for Justice, the Project On Government Oversight, the Constitution Project, and the American Library Association. 

More information about the USA Freedom Act may be found HERE.

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