House concludes FISA ordeal by approving Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act
The House passed a bill introduced by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) that prevents the government from buying U.S. citizens’ data from third parties, a significant win for privacy advocates. This move signals the end of House Republicans’ challenging efforts to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill, co-sponsored by Jerry Nadler from the House Judiciary Committee, mandates court approval for such data purchases.
The House passed a bill from Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) on Wednesday that prohibits the federal government from purchasing U.S. citizens’ data from third parties, a win for privacy hawks that brings an end to House Republicans’ uphill battle to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The bill, introduced by Davidson and House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (R-NY), would force federal agencies to obtain a court order to purchase commercially owned data of U.S. citizens, such as their online activity and location information. It was championed by Judiciary Committee members and their allies as an amendment to Section 702 of FISA, but it failed to make it into the final legislation that passed last week.
A vote on Davidson’s amendment comes after months of infighting within the Republican Party over how to reform the key surveillance program, with House Judiciary and House Intelligence Committees at the center of the arguments.
After 19 Republicans helped Democrats sink a rule vote on FISA, GOP leaders had to create a new version of the bill text. A two-year sunset on FISA and a promise to vote on Davidson’s bill were among the critical changes that lawmakers made to appease holdouts, allowing FISA legislation to pass, 273 to 147.
On Wednesday, Davidson’s bill passed 219 to 199, with 90 Republicans and 109 Democrats voting against it.
The Ohio congressman spoke on the House floor on Wednesday ahead of the vote, urging colleagues to vote for the bill. He called attention to Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) joining Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) to support the legislation in a rare moment of bipartisanship from the parties’ fringe coalitions.
“There are so few things today that everyone agrees on, and when you’ve got the political spectrum covered from those angles, I think that hopefully the American people will see this is a reliable solution,” Davidson said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Though Judiciary Committee members received some wins last week, House Intelligence Committee members and national security allies ultimately secured victory with no warrant requirements and a mostly-agreed upon base text.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) spoke in opposition to Davidson’s bill on the House floor on Wednesday, saying it would “not make people safer” and puts law enforcement at risk.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
