Providing for Consideration of H.R. Iran Counterterrorism Act of Providing for Consideration of H. Res. Condemning Iran's Unprecedented Drone and Missile Attack on Israel; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. to Provide for the Rescission of Certain Waivers and Licenses Relating to Iran, and for Other Purposes; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act; and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act

Floor Speech

Date: April 16, 2024
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. DAVIDSON. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill.

We all swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. The Fourth Amendment does not say that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. It says as an American, you have a reasonable expectation of privacy. It goes on to say that you can have that privacy infringed upon if there is a probable cause warrant or a subpoena issued.

What our agencies are doing, though, is they are buying data around that to avoid having to even get a warrant or subpoena in the first place.

The Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act protects private information. Public information is not prohibited in any way. Whether you pay somebody to do the search for you or you do it yourself, public information is like the plain view doctrine. There is no limitation on that.

Mr. Higgins is clarifying that. Clay Higgins, one of our colleagues, has served as a lifetime law enforcement officer. The Judiciary Committee, where numerous law enforcement officers serve, couldn't possibly be more pro-law enforcement because they have done the career themselves, and they have supported this bill out of committee.

To clarify that this bill is for law enforcement, Mr. Higgins has offered an amendment to say what the intent of the bill is. Automated license plate readers are there. That information has already been disclosed to the government. You know you have disclosed it. The license plate is designed to be a plain-view item in public.

Nothing about this should make policing harder, except that as Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Justice on the United States Supreme Court, said: The First Amendment is getting in the way.

Of what? Filtering speech.

If you think that the Fourth Amendment is getting in the way of enforcing the law, it is designed to. It is supposed to be a limitation on the ability of government to go after citizens because the government is entrusted with great powers.

Mr. Speaker, this rule is an important process to getting a vote on the bill. I thank the leadership team for putting it on the floor today.

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