Tag: senate

Where Does Your Congressmember Stand On Surveillance Reform?

RT4 Relaunches “Decide The Future” Congressional Scorecard on Surveillance and the 4th Amendment

The US government’s mass surveillance programs pose an existential threat to our freedoms. Congress has the ability to rein them in, but only a minority of our legislators are willing to act.

Back in 2015, we and Fight for the Future developed a surveillance scorecard for Congressmembers. Newly relaunched and updated, “Decide The Future” allows you to see which Senators and Representatives are actually voting to reduce surveillance.

The scorecard showcases some important lessons:

  • Party affiliation is not a clear guide to how your legislator stands on surveillance reform. 25 Democratic lawmakers get F grades; 24 Republican lawmakers get A+ grades.
  • If you’re in leadership in either party, it’s more likely that you will oppose reform.
  • If you are serving or have served on the Intelligence Committee, the Homeland Security Committee or the Armed Services Committee, it’s more likely that you will oppose reform, perhaps because of exposure to sustained and selective briefings from the intelligence community.

The scorecard allows you to tweet to your Congressmember about their record. Please do so, and let us know here if you have feedback on the scorecard.

Restore the Fourth signs onto Coalition Letter to Amend the Indefinite Detention Clause of the NDAA

Restore the Fourth, along with P.A.N.D.A., Free the People and several other co-signing organizations, submitted a coalition letter to Senator Lindsay Graham. It urges that an amendment to the NDAA drafted by Sens. Paul and Lee be allowed to be debated. The amendment would remove the indefinite detention clause in this year’s NDAA, which is otherwise an annual bill authorizing the military’s budget.

The power of the executive to indefinitely detain anyone deemed a threat to national security was first added to the NDAA in 2011. This clause allows the President to detain anyone they choose without charge or due process.

Congress will vote on cloture on the NDAA amendment today, determining whether the Paul/Lee amendment will even get to be considered.