In The News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – One week after opposing the reauthorization of the Patriot Act because it didn't stop the National Security Agency’s (NSA) mass collection of Americans’ data, U.S. Representative Scott Perry introduced legislation, the NSA Transparency Act, to require this and future Administrations to respond to unanswered questions from lawmakers about the domestic surveillance programs that have collected this myriad of communications data on American citizens.

Last Wednesday, Congressman Perry was one of only 88 Members of the U.S. House to oppose the so-called “USA Freedom Act” (H.R. 2048) because he believes the bill goes in the wrong direction by authorizing bulk data collection and violating Americans’ Constitutional right to privacy.  He said, “One of my primary responsibilities is to ensure that the privacy and civil liberties of every American guaranteed in the Constitution remain protected. This bill improves the process by ensuring that Congress has the necessary information to carry out its oversight role. We must ensure that law abiding Americans are not harmed by over-intrusive government surveillance programs. Our number one priority must be to ensure that Americans are safe - but not at the cost of violating the founding principles of this country.  The NSA Transparency Act will help safeguard the proper balance between protecting our civil liberties while maintaining our national security.”

Rep. Perry’s bill also would publicize decisions by the FISA Court that approve data collection under the National Surveillance Act programs. “In the wake of numerous leaked NSA privacy violations, we must restore public trust and ensure accountability from the NSA for these programs.”

Rep. Perry introduced this bill in the previous session of Congress and has supported other bipartisan legislation to increase oversight of domestic surveillance programs. Specifically, the NSA Transparency Act requires the present and future Administrations to publicly disclose:

·         when the FISA Court issues a decision determining that U.S. government activities have violated the Constitution;

·         when the NSA began bulk collection of communication records of a large number of American citizens;

·         whether the NSA ever collected location data on innocent Americans using cell phone technology; and

·         how many warrantless searches of communications data took place in order to target a particular American citizen.

Residents of the 4th District may contact Congressman Perry and his staff at any of his offices or via Perry.House.Gov, where they may sign up for e-mail updates and for his Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.