Just Security: USA Freedom and the Surveillance Reform That Almost Was

Just Security: USA Freedom and the Surveillance Reform That Almost Was by Elizabeth Goitein:

Committee markups can be a dry affair, an opportunity for political showboating, or both. Yesterday’s markup of the USA Freedom Act in the House Judiciary Committee was neither. It was a rare and fascinating discussion among members wrestling with whether they should vote for an important amendment they all supported — and risk tanking a bill many support as well.

Here’s the background: the USA Freedom Act undertakes to end the bulk collection of Americans’ business records under foreign intelligence authorities. Although observers have differing views over how effectively it does that, a solid bipartisan majority of the House supports ending bulk collection. The bill, however, doesn’t address the other authorities or rules — like Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) and Executive Order 12,333 — under which the NSA conducts much larger surveillance programs that sweep in vast amounts of Americans’ communications and data.