Bipartisan Bill Reforms Controversial Domestic Surveillance Programs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday U.S. Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-05) announced his support for passage of the USA FREEDOM Act, H.R. 2048, which garnered the support of 338 members of the House of Representatives.
“The passage of the USA FREEDOM Act is the result of strong, bipartisan negotiations that strike a balance in order to protect American citizen’s rights without dealing a blow to lawful and warranted surveillance efforts,” said Thompson.
“Congress did not intend for any law to authorize the indiscriminate collection of personal information from Americans. The USA FREEDOM Act will help end government overreach while ensuring intelligence agencies have the tools at their disposal to lawfully pursue suspected terrorists in efforts to protect all Americans,” added Thompson, a member of the bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus.
H.R. 2048 includes numerous reforms to the nation’s intelligence-gathering programs, reaffirming a court ruling against bulk data collection, and overhauling operations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts. The legislation builds upon H.R. 3361, which passed the House during the 113thCongress. Thompson was an original co-sponsor of H.R. 3361.
Organizations advocating for passage of the USA FREEDOM Act can be found here.