WASHINGTON, DC — During this morning’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, everyone from Ranking Member Nadler to Subcommittee Chair Biggs celebrated and demonstrated the bipartisan appetite for robust reform of warrantless surveillance that affects people in the United States.
In response to the hearing, Demand Progress Senior Policy Counsel Sean Vitka issued the following statement:
“There is no more bipartisan cause in Congress than protecting Americans’ civil liberties. Almost every member of the subcommittee endorsed stopping warrantless backdoor searches of Americans’ information. Even the witnesses were disturbed that the government has refused to estimate how many Americans’ right to privacy has been compromised by Section 702, which the government promised to do six years ago. But what may be most impressive is how significant the reforms being discussed are, especially reining in Executive Order 12333 by statute, for which Inspector General Horowitz expressed support.
“The fight around Section 702 has just rightfully graduated into a fight over warrantless surveillance of Americans generally, a debate which is extremely long overdue.”