Rep. Yoho Statement on the USA Freedom Act

Washington D.C. – Congressman Ted Yoho (R-FL-03) voted no on H.R. 3361, the USA Freedom Act. This heavily amended bill attempts to make reforms to intelligence gathering programs under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including the bulk collection of Americans’ records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, pen register and trap and trace authority, and national security letters.

The Congressman released the following statement following his vote:

“Today I had no choice but to vote against a severely weakened H.R. 3361. As an original cosponsor of the USA FREEDOM Act, I was extremely disappointed to see that influence from the Obama Administration and the intelligence community ultimately overcame liberty and privacy. After several revisions, the version on the floor today is vastly different than the one I proudly cosponsored back on October 29, 2013 after the NSA abuses came to light. The ambiguous language that was inserted into the revised version leaves the privacy of all Americans once again in the hands of the intelligence community.

“I fear that leaving this much interpretation and authority to the NSA will only put us right back where we were before these constitutional abuses became known. There is a long way to go before the privacy and liberty of every American is protected. I sincerely hope the President will begin to respect the document he swore to protect.”

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Congressman Ted Yoho serves on the Foreign Affairs and Agriculture Committees. He represents North Florida’s 3rd Congressional District