Rep. Nugent Introduces Legislation Cracking Down on NSA

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Following introduction of his legislation blocking the NSA from collecting domestic metadata on Americans, Rep. Rich Nugent (FL-11) issued the following statement:

“I think most Americans, including many members of Congress who were supposedly informed about the NSA’s domestic surveillance, were shocked and dismayed to learn what is going on in our country with regards to domestic surveillance.  The fact that our own government has been secretly collecting the phone records of American citizens has given everyone pause, including me. 

“Last year, the House sought to change the law through the amendment process to make it clear as crystal that this is not an acceptable practice under our Constitution.  At the time, two amendments ended up being considered in Congress.  One amendment passed, but was not strongly worded enough to prohibit the courts from giving the NSA permission to engage in domestic activities.  The second amendment, which I supported, would have blocked domestic collection of private information, but in doing so, also would have blocked the NSA’s ability to collect information overseas.  I supported that amendment, despite my reservation about restricting foreign intelligence gathering. My goal is not to limit the NSA’s toolbox overseas, simply to prohibit them from spying on Americans here at home.  The legislation I introduced today threads that needle and will not jeopardize the agency’s ability to gather intelligence on our enemies abroad. 

“The American Privacy Protection Act would hold the NSA to the same standard that all law enforcement agencies in this country have lived by for decades.  If you need a phone record, get a warrant for it.  Having spent almost forty years in law enforcement, I can tell you that standard is sufficient for fighting crime while protecting the rights of the innocent.  Those rights form the bedrock of this nation and they are absolutely worth fighting for.”

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