House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the statement below after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the National Security Agency’s bulk collection program is not authorized under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Congressmen Goodlatte, Conyers, Sensenbrenner, and Nadler are the authors of the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048), which ends bulk collection and reforms our nation’s intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

“Today’s federal appeals court ruling confirms what we’ve been saying all along: bulk collection of data is not authorized under the law and is not accepted by the American people. It also reaffirms that a straight reauthorization of the bulk collection program is not a choice for Congress. Next week, the House of Representatives will vote on the USA Freedom Act, which contains the most sweeping set of reforms to government surveillance practices in nearly 40 years. This bill ends bulk collection of data, strengthens protections for civil liberties, increases transparency, and prevents government overreach, while also protecting national security. The Senate should waste no time defending a program that has been ruled unlawful by the Second Circuit and take up this strong, bipartisan bill as soon as possible.”

Learn more about the USA Freedom Act by clicking here.

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