When a football team cannot move the ball in their allotted downs, they punt in hopes of putting the opposing team in a difficult position. Punting in football is all about hopefully turning an unfortunate situation into a positive one. 

A punt is akin to what Congress did last week when it came to renewing, reforming, or sunsetting the unconstitutional surveillance power of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — a power used by the United States government to collect information on U.S. citizens without a warrant.

Before their winter break, Congress considered a bill aimed at reforming Section 702 – H.R. 6570, the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act. But, instead of voting on the bill, Congress punted, and the bill was pulled from the legislative calendar without being rescheduled. H.R. 6570 includes many reform measures like enhancing oversight and accountability, curtailing the use of Section 702 data, and enacting statutory safeguards.

Now, an even stronger piece of legislation is on the way to combat warrantless surveillance and section 702. Ask your Senators and Representative to support the Government Surveillance Reform Act (GSRA) — legislation that would protect Americans from warrantless surveillance.

Though Section 702 does not allow the government to target American citizens, agencies have nonetheless engaged in doing so for years. Government agencies like NSA (National Security Agency), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), and FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) have collected and combed through billions of private communications of U.S. and non-U.S. citizens alike. And, all of this has been done unfettered since 2008 when Section 702 was enacted, all in the name of “national security.” 

This punt is not only a good sign, it also presents an opportunity. That Congress could not vote on the bill is a sign that pro-surveillance hardliners were unable to bully supporters of reform and that support for true reform is gaining traction. 

Congress has left the door open for us to do something. Though Section 702 will not sunset on December 31 of this year as originally scheduled and has been extended to April 2024, we have been presented with an opportunity to continue pushing the government to enact real reform and protect our Constitutional rights. 

Tell Congress to support the GSRA and reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to prevent the warrantless collection of personal data now!

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-- The RootsAction.org team

Background:

>> Text of HR 6570
>> Text of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2023
>> Brennan Center: "FISA 'Reform' and Reauthorization Act: The Biggest Expansion in Government Surveillance Since the Patriot Act"
>> Rep. Zoe Lofgren: "Congressional Progressive Caucus Endorses Government Surveillance Reform Act"

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