A vote on the Massie-Lofgren amendment to the FY 2015 Department of Defense Appropriations Act is expected tonight, so if your representative hasn't yet heard from you, please call and/or email them right away!
The Massie-Lofgren amendment would rein in the NSA by denying funds for so-called “backdoor surveillance” and warrantless searches of Americans' electronic communications under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act.
You can read C4L's letter to Capitol Hill in support of the amendment here.
Steven Nelson writes in U.S. News and World Report that:
Supporters see the amendment as an important supplement to the USA Freedom Act, which passed the House May 22 after being weakened at the behest of the Obama administration and more hawkish House members....
Many anti-mass-surveillance lawmakers bailed on the Freedom Act after it was modified to win broader support. Among other alterations, the bill was amended to remove the warrant requirement for the warehoused electronic communications of Americans, and Lofgren warned in committee its shortcomings would open the door for further abuse....
The lead-up to the vote has been markedly less frantic than other recent surveillance votes, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the libertarian Campaign for Liberty and other groups are urging supporters to contact their representatives. The measure is also supported by Google and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Last year, an amendment offered by Representative Justin Amash to rein in the NSA fell short by only a handful of votes. So if we can pour enough grassroots pressure on the House today, we have a great shot at a major victory for civil liberties - one that will reverberate for quite some time and help set the stage for even larger reforms.
Contact your representative right away and urge them to support the Massie-Lofgren amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act!
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PDFTags: NSA, Massie, DOD appropriations, Lofgren