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As you might imagine, many people are outraged over House leadership's  apparent decision to include a reauthorization of the WIDELY ABUSED Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as part of the important National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the the House is expected to consider this week.

Here's an excellent explanation from the nonpartisan Brennan Center of the problems with FISA:

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"Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was enacted to make it easier for the government to address foreign terrorist threats. The law gives the government broad authority to surveil non-Americans located abroad, but targeting Americans is prohibited. Unfortunately, intelligence agencies have used legal loopholes to turn Section 702 into a go-to domestic spying authority, using it to conduct hundreds of thousands of warrantless 'backdoor' searches for Americans’ private communications every year."

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Friends, this is one of several red-lines for me when it comes to the NDAA. The outrageous abuses of FISA need to be addressed in separate, standalone legislation. I will not be voting for NDAA if it includes a reauthorization of these incredibly inappropriate FISA provisions for any length of time.