Durbin Delivers Opening Statement In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On The Need To Reform The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On The Need To Reform The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Durbin: "With the Trump Administration trampling constitutional rights, & the sunset of Section 702 just three months away, a hearing with government officials to address their use of this surveillance tool is imperative."

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Review and Reform: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Executive Accountability." In less than three months, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will expire. The Senate Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over FISA, and during his opening, Durbin noted the Committee has a responsibility to conduct oversight of this authority and to craft legislative solutions that protect the security and constitutional rights of Americans.

Given the lawlessness from the Trump Administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, Durbin slammed the Trump Administration for refusing to allow government officials to testify at important Senate hearings. After Durbin pressed for months, Secretary Noem finally agreed to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3^rd-five weeks from now.

Key Quotes:

"I am disappointed that we do not have any witnesses from the Trump Administration testifying today. Members of this Committee must be able to question Executive Branch officials regarding their use of this sweeping authority, especially for warrantless surveillance of Americans."

"This is why, when I served as Chair of this Committee [last Congress], I convened a hearing with senior officials from the Biden Administration... so we could hear their answers. The failure of Trump Administration officials to appear before this Committee on important issues is a troubling pattern that must come to an end."

"For months, I have been calling for Secretary Noem to answer for the lawless and inhumane reign of terror that her agency has unleashed on America. Secretary Noem has such a busy schedule that she was unable to come before this Committee the last calendar year. But now, she said she might find time in her schedule in a mere five weeks. What's going to happen in Minneapolis in the next five weeks?"

"With the Trump Administration challenging our constitutional rights, and the sunset of Section 702 just three months away, a hearing with government officials to address their use of this surveillance [tool] is imperative."

"There is no doubt that Section 702 is a valuable tool for collecting foreign intelligence. However, for years, the government has used [Section 702] as a domestic spying tool to collect millions-maybe billions-of Americans' private communications. And it is then searching these vast troves of our communications-reading our text messages and emails and listening to our phone calls-all without a warrant required by the Fourth Amendment."

"It was my view when Section 702 was first authorized in 2008-and it remains my view now-that Section [702] does not contain sufficient safeguards to protect the privacy and civil liberties of Americans."

"That is why, since the first reauthorization of FISA in 2012, I have worked on a bipartisan basis with Senator Lee and we continue to work together to require a warrant for any search of an American's communications. I urge my colleagues to join our effort and I look forward to working with the Chairman to ensure that Congress does not fail the American people."

Video of Durbin's opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin's opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin's opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

Durbin and U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) previously introduced the bipartisan Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act, a compromise bill that protects Americans from foreign threats and from warrantless government surveillance. This legislation reflects a carefully crafted, pragmatic approach that protects national security by reauthorizing Section 702 of FISA and protects Americans' privacy and civil liberties by enacting meaningful safeguards against warrantless surveillance and government abuses.

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