Quigley Applauds Passage of Bipartisan USA Freedom Act

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) voted to restore Americans’ privacy rights and pass H.R. 3361, the USA FREEDOM Act: United and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet Collection, and Online Monitoring Act. Rep. Quigley is an original cosponsor the bill, which ends the government’s bulk collection of phone records and requires increased government oversight and public scrutiny of domestic surveillance programs.

“The USA FREEDOM Act is a significant step forward to reform the NSA’s surveillance practices, protect the privacy of the American people and give Congress and the public the power to prevent the NSA from overstepping its authority again,” said. Rep. Quigley. “While not perfect, the bill makes fundamental changes to the NSA’s surveillance programs and the FISA court that will protect the American peoples’ constitutional rights, significantly increase transparency of the NSA and FISA court and safeguard our national security.”

The USA FREEDOM Act ends the bulk collection of Americans’ communications records and establishes new privacy protections that limit the retention of personal information and call detail records.

The bill also increases transparency and oversight of surveillance programs and the FISA Court by making significant FISA Court decisions available to the public. The bill requires the government to declassify each decision, order and opinion the FISA court issues on a significant interpretation of the law within 45 days. It strengthens congressional oversight and creates a panel of legal and technical experts to defend Americans’ privacy and constitutional rights before the FISA court. The bill also requires the government to disclose the number of requests made for call records and gives private companies greater authority to publicly report requests for information they receive.

Rep. Quigley is co-founder of the Congressional Transparency Caucus and has a record of fighting for increased transparency of the FISA Court on the Judiciary Committee. In March, he introduced the Transparency in Government Act, a wide-ranging good government reform bill that would bring unprecedented access and accountability to the federal government.