National Security
Cybersecurity
The United States is facing an increasing number of cyber threats, from state actors, like Iran, China, and Russia, and non-state actors. Earlier this year, I voted in favor of the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act (H.R. 1731), which would establish the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, which will collect, analyze, and share cyber threat information from federal and private entities. This will provide for better coordination and information-sharing between both the federal government and private sector, aiming to increase the effectiveness of defensive measures.
The USA FREEDOM Act
I believe the right to privacy is a fundamental American right. The Internet, cell phones, and other electronic devices have opened the world to new possibilities we could only dream about a short time ago. However, we must ensure that our core rights are not infringed upon during this period of rapid innovation.
I supported, and Congress recently passed, the USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 2048), which makes reforms to the PATRIOT Act originally passed in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. In particular, the bill makes reforms to Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, which had been used to conduct the bulk collection of domestic phone call metadata. This bill ends bulk collection and instead requires that the federal government receive a court order to permit the collection of telephone metadata for a specific phone number. Additionally, it explicitly states that the content of a phone communication, including name, address, or financial information, must be excluded from the information collected, and puts into place additional reporting and transparency requirements.
These reforms strike a balance between protecting our civil liberties and defending our nation. We must recognize legitimate threats to our security and take appropriate measures to keep our nation safe. Soldiers fought and died for us to live in a free society and I take their sacrifice extremely seriously.
War Powers
I am gravely concerned about the status of the power to wage war. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to declare war. Following the American Revolution, our Founding Fathers had good reason to keep this power from the Executive Branch. I believe it is imperative that Congress reaffirm the separation of powers and demand that the Constitution be upheld to avoid wars that are not in our national interest.
I am a cosponsor of the War Powers Reform Act (H.R. 560), which would prohibit funds from being used to put our Armed Forces into harm's way without an official authorization from Congress. I have also signed a letter urging House leadership to schedule a vote on an Authorization for Use of Military Force against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), to authorize the airstrikes and any other operations that may be utilized in Iraq going forward to combat the threat of ISIS.