WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) announced that he was appointed to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s bipartisan working group on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by Chairman Mike Turner (OH-10) and Ranking Member Jim Himes (CT-04).
“As a former FBI agent, I know how crucial FISA reauthorization is to our Intelligence Community’s ability to collect intelligence and protect our national security,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick. “I’m grateful to Chairman Turner and Ranking Member Himes and I look forward to working toward bipartisan solutions to surveillance issues with my colleagues in this working group.”
“The reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a top legislative priority for the House Intelligence Committee. Unfortunately, there have been significant and egregious abuses of Section 702 that have eroded the trust of the American people, putting FISA’s reauthorization at risk,” said Chairman Mike Turner. “I believe that the reauthorization of Section 702 is necessary to ensure the Intelligence Community maintains its ability to collect invaluable foreign intelligence to stay a step ahead of our adversaries, but corrections must be made to protect American citizens’ constitutional rights. Our FISA Working Group, led by Representative Darin LaHood, is committed to finding bipartisan solutions to reform the Intelligence Community’s foreign surveillance tools.”
“FISA 702 is a powerful tool that the Intelligence Community uses every day to prevent terrorist attacks, disrupt cyber attacks, and gain unique intelligence insights on foreign targets,” said Ranking Member Jim Himes. “Allowing this critical authority to lapse would be deeply negligent and put our national security at risk. At the same time, it is our duty as Representatives to ensure that these authorities do not violate Americans’ constitutionally protected rights and to look at further reforms to protect those rights. The six members of this working group encapsulated the thoughtful, pragmatic, bipartisan approach that will be essential to tackling one of the most important issues facing this Congress.”
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