Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), a veteran member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calling for a vote on the Senate version of the USA Freedom Act, a bill that contains many important bipartisan reforms to the National Security Agency’s (NSA) domestic surveillance programs.
“We have the first chance in more than a decade to finally place some real limits on the sweeping, unwarranted – and at times unlawful – government surveillance that many of us have fought against for the past several years. The Senate version of the USA Freedom Act contains vital reforms that are supported by a broad coalition that ranges across the political spectrum. We must move to pass it into law and not waste this opportunity for real reform,” said Congressman Nadler. “Immediately following the midterm elections, I urge the Senate to pass the updated USA Freedom Act. In two overwhelming votes, the House of Representatives has shown its support for NSA reform and I hope the Senate will follow suit.”
Full text of the letter:
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader, United States Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader, United States Senate
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senators Reid and McConnell,
As the 113th session of Congress nears its end, the window to enact meaningful reform of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) overly broad and unconstitutional domestic spying practices is rapidly closing. The most recent version of the USA Freedom Act, reintroduced in the Senate by Senator Patrick Leahy, contains bipartisan reform measures supported by a historic alliance of stakeholders; including the White House, liberal Democrats, conservative Republicans, the intelligence community and privacy advocates. I join Senator Leahy and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte in urging the Senate to pass the USA Freedom Act once Congress reconvenes on November 12 and to send it back to the House for a final vote of approval.
Our nation was founded on a healthy skepticism of unchecked executive power. The NSA’s practices of dragnet surveillance of call records without individualized reasonable suspicion and of searching the contents of Americans’ communications without individual warrants approved by a judge exemplifies the sort of unchecked abuse of executive power our founders, along with each subsequent generation, have fought to prevent.
NSA reform, as presented in the USA Freedom Act, is long overdue. This summer, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the USA Freedom Act (303 – 121) and the Massie/Lofgren amendment (293 – 123) to the Department of Defense FY15 Appropriations Bill. We sent a clear message from both sides of the aisle that current practices of mass data collection are unacceptable.
Now, it is up to the Senate. I urge you to work together to schedule a vote on the floor during the coming post-election session in order to pass Senator Leahy’s most recent version of the USA Freedom Act and send it back to the House for a final vote.
Sincerely,
Jerrold Nadler
Member of Congress
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Jerrold Nadler has served in Congress since 1992. He represents New York’s 10th Congressional District, which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
