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Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Limitations of NSA

Letter

By: Rick Nolan, Mike Quigley, Eddie Johnson, Jim Moran, Jr., Henry Waxman, Don Payne, Jr., Gwen Moore, Tammy Duckworth, Bill Foster, Hakeem Jeffries, Suzan DelBene, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Earl Blumenauer, Eleanor Norton, John Yarmuth, Peter Welch, Jim Matheson, Frank Pallone, Jr., Jim Langevin, Elizabeth Esty, Raul Ruiz, Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Courtney, Joe Kennedy III, Kyrsten Sinema, Chaka Fattah, Sr., Derek Kilmer, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Sheila Jackson Lee, John Garamendi, Marcia Fudge, Lois Capps, Denny Heck, Juan Vargas, Terri Sewell, Matt Cartwright, Frederica Wilson, Pete Gallego, Jerry McNerney, Corrine Brown, Anna Eshoo, Marc Veasey, Jim McDermott, Gloria Negrete McLeod, Joe Garcia, Sam Farr, Elijah Cummings, Steve Cohen, Adam Schiff, Ed Perlmutter, Patrick Murphy, Rob Andrews, Carol Shea-Porter, Keith Ellison, Annie Kuster, Raul Grijalva, Mark Takano, Eric Swalwell, Grace Meng, Steve Israel, Grace Napolitano, Sandy Levin, Colleen Hanabusa, John Larson, Joe Crowley, Dan Kildee, Barbara Lee, Pete Visclosky, Jim Clyburn, Beto O'Rourke, David Price, Brian Higgins, Stephen Lynch, Cedric Richmond, Adam Smith, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Niki Tsongas, Sean Maloney, Collin Peterson, Dutch Ruppersberger, Dan Maffei, Ron Kind, Jared Polis, John Delaney, Jim Himes, Tony Cárdenas, Donna Edwards, Ann Kirkpatrick, Mike Thompson, Jerry Nadler, Ami Bera, José Serrano, Mark Pocan, Jim Cooper, Eliot Engel, Joaquin Castro, Bill Enyart, Yvette Clarke, Suzanne Bonamici, Alan Grayson, Joyce Beatty, Cheri Bustos, Steny Hoyer, Mike Michaud, Louise Slaughter, Scott Peters, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Nita Lowey, Steven Horsford, Rick Larsen, Lois Frankel, Jim McGovern, Bob Brady, Dina Titus, John Tierney, Nancy Pelosi, Rosa DeLauro, Bobby Scott, Xavier Becerra, Mike Honda, John Carney, Jr., Hank Johnson, Jr., Eni Faleomavaega, John Lewis, Alan Lowenthal, George Miller, Brad Sherman, Ben Lujan, Jr., Judy Chu, Thomas Davis III, Betty McCollum, Julia Brownley, Kathy Castor, Luis Gutiérrez, Gerry Connolly, Gary Peters, Madeleine Bordallo, Tim Ryan, Tim Bishop, Doris Matsui, Bennie Thompson, Bill Owens, David Cicilline, Jackie Speier, Gene Green, Jared Huffman, Tim Walz, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Diana DeGette, Loretta Sanchez, John Conyers, Jr., Jan Schakowsky, Janice Hahn, Pedro Pierluisi
Date: July 26, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Technology and Communication Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and 153 Members of the House Democratic Caucus sent the following letter to President Barack Obama today following the consideration of the Amash-Conyers amendment, which would have restricted the operations of the National Security Agency. The letter calls on President Obama to work with Congress to examine the operations of the NSA and consider amendments to existing law that strengthen the balance between our national security and Americans' civil liberties.

As the Members write in the letter, "Although some of us voted for and others against the amendment, we all agree that there are lingering questions and concerns about the current 215 collection program."

The Members state further that, "Congress must examine the various national security collection programs and consider amendments to the law. We have been assured that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has embarked on a review of the collection programs done pursuant to FISA and the Patriot Act, and has agreed to review various legislative proposals."

Below is the full text of the letter:

July 26, 2013

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for your leadership in honoring our responsibility to protect and defend the American people. As you know, our challenge as elected officials is to preserve Americans' liberties while protecting our national security.

This week, the House of Representatives considered an amendment offered by Representatives Amash and Conyers to H.R. 2397, the Fiscal Year 2014 Defense Appropriations bill. The Amash-Conyers amendment would have limited NSA's ability to collect bulk telecommunications records pursuant to Section 215 of the Patriot Act as codified in Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Although the amendment was defeated 205-217, it is clear that concerns remain about the continued implementation of the program in its current form.

Although some of us voted for and others against the amendment, we all agree that there are lingering questions and concerns about the current 215 collection program. These include:

- Whether the bulk metadata telecommunications collection program sufficiently protects the privacy and civil liberties of Americans.
- Whether the program could be tailored more narrowly to better ensure the protection of privacy and civil liberties.
- Whether the law is being implemented in a manner consistent with Congressional intent.
- How we can ensure greater transparency regarding FISA court operations, decision making, and issuance of orders.
- Whether changes to the current FISA Court structure are needed.

Congress must examine the various national security collection programs and consider amendments to the law. We have been assured that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has embarked on a review of the collection programs done pursuant to FISA and the Patriot Act, and has agreed to review various legislative proposals.

We look forward to working with you and Administration officials to address the concerns outlined above and to explore options which will preserve Americans' privacy and civil liberties while protecting our national security.

Thank you for your leadership and your attention to these concerns.

Sincerely,


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