Representative Justin Amash (R-Michigan) co-sponsored a bill described at his website thusly:
H.R. 2399, the Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act (LIBERT-E Act), restricts the federal government’s ability under the Patriot Act to collect information on Americans who are not connected to an ongoing investigation. The bill also requires that secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court opinions be made available to Congress and summaries of the opinions be made available to the public.
Those who argue in favor of the snooping haven't been very convincing. Every profession wants access to tools that make their work easier, and it's no different with the NSA. However, keeping the snoops out of the lives of "Americans who are not connected to an ongoing investigation" seems perfectly reasonable. But a majority of the House members voted against it.
For a short summation of how overly intrusive the NSA's metadata searches are see this article at USAToday.com.
Let's take a glance at the voting record. Looks like our own Texas District 11 Congressman Mike Conaway voted against it.
What makes this particularly significant is the recollection of a discussion heard on the radio a couple of years ago when Mr. Conaway was a guest on a local drive-time show. He was there complaining about the FBI's attempt to serve a legitimately obtained search warrant on a Congressman's office (not Conaway's). Congressional offices, you see, should be exempt, according to Conaway. The FBI backed down.
Rules are for the little people.
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