Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, urged members on the House floor today to put forward solutions for Americans' security.
As prepared for delivery:
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 provided authorities for the collection of foreign intelligence information to protect the United States from foreign threats. These authorities were expanded after 9/11 and their use has far exceeded the original intent.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court provides authorization via a court order. Inspector General Horowitz’s recent report revealed intentional abuse of the FISA process by FBI officials investigating the Trump campaign for collusion with Russia during the 2016 Presidential campaign, a connection that could not be established by Special Counsel Mueller’s months-long investigation.
In addition, FBI agents reportedly used official meetings with President-elect Trump and incoming National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, to gather intelligence on them. These politically driven actions by the FBI were highly irregular, inappropriate, and in the case of the inaccurate FISA Court applications, criminal.
And yet, no one has served a sentence to account for these crimes. What is the point of passing a law if the enforcement agency is the one abusing it? We must not let this malfeasance go unpunished.
Now let me be clear, we all want to protect the American people and part of that responsibility includes authorizing certain activities by our intelligence agencies to obtain critical information on foreign targets. But no Americans civil liberties should be squandered in that effort.
When the House first passed H.R. 6172, the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act, I supported the bill for the modest improvements made to the FISA process. However, we have since learned details that indicate that abuse was more widespread and deliberate than initially reported.
Given that, rather than place some additional requirements upon the exercise of existing authorities, we must fully reevaluate the FISA authorities to resolve the right balance between protecting our nation and the rights of the American people. In addition, President Trump does not support this bill in its current form, rendering moot today’s vote.
