For Immediate Release: Congressman Wesley Hunt Votes Against H.R. 7888 - The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

 

 

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Wesley Hunt (R, TX-38) voted against H.R. 7888 - The Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act.  

 

This bill provides the statutory framework for our government agencies to gather intelligence by means of electronic surveillance on foreign nationals.  In recent years it is has successfully been used to assist in the prevention of terrorist activities by permitting the agencies to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign persons located outside the U.S.   

 

However, there have been many instances where the same government agencies have spied on American citizens through these means, which is both unlawful, and completely unacceptable.  

 

Furthermore, without a FISA 702 warrant requirement, serious concerns remain about Americans being surveilled without guaranteed 4th Amendment protections.

 

It is important to note that the White House not only released a memo today referring to guaranteed 4th Amendment protections as a threat to national security, but that it has been widely reported that the Biden Administration was actively lobbying members of Congress to vote against this amendment.    

 

"I am firm in my belief that there should be a requirement that federal agents must obtain the proper warrants before deploying these intelligence activities to ensure they only target foreign persons and not American citizens,"said Rep. Hunt.