In the News

Did you know federal agencies have searched Americans’ communications under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without ever getting a warrant?

That ought to give every American pause!!

FISA, specifically Section 702, was designed to help intelligence agencies monitor foreign threats overseas. But along the way, Americans’ communications have been swept up, stored, and later searched, often without a warrant. That raises serious Fourth Amendment concerns.

Congress reauthorized Section 702 in 2024 under the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), and parts of that law are set to expire this year. But even as that deadline approaches, the program is still operating under existing court approvals, which only adds urgency to the debate happening right now in Congress.

Here’s how I look at it. If a local police officer needs a warrant to search your home, then the federal government ought to do the same before searching your data.

Instead, what we’ve seen is a pattern of misuse. Repeated instances where Americans’ information was searched without a warrant. That’s not something we can just brush aside. That’s NOT how a free country operates. Anything less undermines the very freedoms we are sworn to protect.

Now, the reforms passed in 2024 were a step in the right direction, but they stopped short of what matters MOST. It failed to include a true warrant requirement for Americans’ data, the most important safeguard. In fact, some parts of the bill even expanded surveillance authorities, which is why I couldn’t support it.

We CAN give our intelligence community the tools they need to keep this country safe, but absolutely never at the expense of the constitutional rights of the people we represent. Those two things are not mutually exclusive!!

Congress has a responsibility to protect both.