The House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act today in a 338 to 88 vote. In Massachusetts, Keating, Kennedy, Lynch, Moulton, and Tsongas voted for it. Capuano, Clark, McGovern, and Neal voted against it.
The USA Freedom Act shifts mass collection of our communications from the NSA’s unconstitutional surveillance dragnet to corporations. Proponents say this change is an improvement. Considering how lax the FISA court has been at pushing back on government attempts to hoover up our communications combined with the fact that the bill indemnifies corporations for any wrongdoing, the bill is unlikely to help keep our communications private.
The USA Freedom Act would:
- expand what meta data may be collected from phone calls to other communications technologies;
- ensure that all data is shared with the NSA, CIA and FBI. Based on what we know already, the data wouldn’t stop there. While the CIA and NSA would need to report the number of back door searches they carry out, the FBI would be exempt. Expect the FBI to be the conduit to other agencies such as the DEA and ATF;
- allow the government to launder data from its mass surveillance program for use in criminal cases;
- extends the maximum sentence for someone convicted of material support for terrorism from 15 to 20 years. Due to past court rulings, speech qualifies as material support.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently rejected the president’s secret interpretation that Section 215 of the Patriot Act allowed mass surveillance of who we call, when, from where and for how long. Section 215 is set to expire on June 1st. Now is not the time for Congress to write mass surveillance into law.
Please contact Senators Warren and Markey and urge them to oppose the USA Freedom Act and any attempts to renew Section 215 of the Patriot Act:
The fight in the House isn’t over. The Senate and House will likely need to reconcile their different bills. Please contact your representative and either praise them for voting against the USA Freedom Act or voice your displeasure at their vote for it.
To find out who represents you in Congress, please visit Where Do I Vote MA and enter your address.
The House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act today in a 338 to 88 vote. In Massachusetts, Keating, Kennedy, Lynch, Moulton, and Tsongas voted for it. Capuano, Clark, McGovern, and Neal voted against it.
The USA Freedom Act shifts mass collection of our communications from the NSA’s unconstitutional surveillance dragnet to corporations. Proponents say this change is an improvement. Considering how lax the FISA court has been at pushing back on government attempts to hoover up our communications combined with the fact that the bill indemnifies corporations for any wrongdoing, the bill is unlikely to help keep our communications private.
The USA Freedom Act would:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently rejected the president’s secret interpretation that Section 215 of the Patriot Act allowed mass surveillance of who we call, when, from where and for how long. Section 215 is set to expire on June 1st. Now is not the time for Congress to write mass surveillance into law.
Please contact Senators Warren and Markey and urge them to oppose the USA Freedom Act and any attempts to renew Section 215 of the Patriot Act:
The fight in the House isn’t over. The Senate and House will likely need to reconcile their different bills. Please contact your representative and either praise them for voting against the USA Freedom Act or voice your displeasure at their vote for it.
To find out who represents you in Congress, please visit Where Do I Vote MA and enter your address.