They sought to protect americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensation. They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone. The most comprehensive of right and the right most valued by civilized men, end quote. After the horrific tax attacks on september 11, 2001, the country was determined not to allow such an attack to occur again. The changes we made then to our intelligence laws helped keep us safe from implaqueable enemies. Today we renew our commitment to our nations security and to the safety of the American People. We also make this pledge that the United States of america will remain a nags whose government answers to the will of the people. This country must be what always has been, a beacon of freedom to the world, a place where the principles of the founders, including the commitment to individual liberties will continue to live, protected and nourished for future generations. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Mr. Speaker, i rise to claim time pursuant to the rule. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Rogers id yield myself as much time as i might consume, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Rogers id like to recognize mr. Goodlatte, mr. Sensenbrenner, the other judiciary sponsors, leader cantor, for their continued hard work of forging a compromise with the Intelligence Committee while preserving operational capabilities. Its commendable we have found a legislative solution to address concerns about the bulk telephone Metadata Program so we may move forward on other National Security legislative priorities. Our obligation to protect this country should not be held hostage by the traitor or traitors who leak classified information that put our troops in the field at risk or those who fear monger and spread mistruths and misinformation to further their own misguided agenda. Following the criminal disclosures of intelligence information last june, section 215 telephone Metadata Program has been the subject of intense and often inaccurate criticism. The bulk telephone Metadata Program is legal, its overseen and effective in saving american lives. No review has found anything other than that. All three branches of government oversee this program, including congress, inspector general, privacy and Civil Liberties offices in the executive branch agencies. Despite the effectiveness of the program, an immeans and immense safeguards on the data, many members of this body have concerns about the potential abuse. The debate has been about the potential of abuse, not that abuse had occurred. The legislation we are considering today is designed to address those concerns and reflect hundreds of hours of member and staff work to negotiate a workable compromise. In march the Intelligence CommitteeRanking Member, mr. Rupp ersberger, and i mr. Ruppersberger, and i had legislation that accomplished these main priorities. We committed to ending bulk metaData Collection. We committed to providing more targeted, narrow authorities so as not to put america at risk. We committed to provide and even more robust judicial review that exists today and process for that program. And we committed to providing more transparency into the fisa process and the decisions of the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court. The revised u. S. A. Freedom act accomplishes the same goals as well. The u. S. A. Freedom act provides the meaningful change to the telephone metadata that members of the house have been seeking. If we had the fortune of having a commander in chief firmly dedicated to the preservation of this program, we may have been able to protect it in its entirety. With that not being the case, and i believe this is a workable compromise that protects the core function of a Counterterrorism Program we know has saved lives around the world. I urge members to support this legislation. I want to thank all of those who came together to forge something that has been certainly a difficult process along the way. But at the end of the day, something important happened here. A better understanding of the threats by i think more members of congress that posed every single day to the lives of american citizens by terror groups around the world. And that rise in threat level is getting worse. The matrix for that threat level is getting worse. And it was important as we forged and i think met the concerns of so many and educated i think many on the misinformation that was out there that we protect the core capability to detect if a foreign terrorist on foreign soil is making a call to the United States to further advance their goals of killing americans. I think we accomplish that today. Its not the bill i would have written completely, but i think we protected those operational concerns and met the concerns for those who had a mistrust of that metadata being locked away with the National Security agency. So with that i would reserve the balance of my time, mr. Speaker, and look forward to a thoughtful debate. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan reserves. The gentleman from maryland is recognized. Mr. Ruppersberger thank you, mr. Speaker. And i rise in strong support of the u. S. A. Freedom act. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Ruppersberger on may 8, the house Intelligence Committee passed out of the committee the bipartisan u. S. A. Freedom act. The identical bill that the Judiciary Committee passed out of may 7. I especially want to thank chairman rogers for his years of leadership on the house Intelligence Committee. I also want to thank chairman goodlatte and Ranking Member conyers and also congressman sensenbrenner and the staff of our intelligence and Judiciary Committees for the hard work they did on this bill. We have worked together in a bipartisan manner and we have come a long way. After our committee markups, chairman rogers and i have continued to work with the Judiciary Committee and the administration to iron out some remaining issues which we have done and which is represented in the current bill. The bill represents the productive efforts of bipartisanship and working together for the American People. Just yesterday, the administration stated that it strongly supports passage of our bill. Again, the administration said that it strongly supports passage of our bill. It also stated that the u. S. A. Freedom act, quote, ensures our intelligence and Law Enforcement professionals have the authority they need to protect the nation while further ensuring that individuals privacy is appropriately protected. The u. S. A. Freedom act contains important measures to increase transparency and enhance privacy while maintaining an important National Security tool. First, we have ended bulk collection of telephone metadata and ensures the Court Reviews each and every search application. The database that contains phone numbers of millions of americans will go away. It will be replaced with a tailored, narrow process that allows the government to search only for specific connections to suspected terrorists to keep us safe here at home. There is an important emergency exception when there isnt time to get prior approval from the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court, also known as fisc. Second, we have expanded reporting for Court Decisions to improve transparency without threatening sources and methods. Third, we are creating an advocate to provide outside expertise for significant matters before the fisa court. Fourth, we have established a declassification review process of Court Opinions to ensure the public has access to our National Security legal rulings in a manner that still protects our sources and methods. The u. S. A. Freedom act is critical to our countrys safe and our Intelligence Community safety and Intelligence Community. It is focused on a logical bill that will protect our citizens through important legal tools while strengthening Civil Liberties. I was opposed to the original u. S. A. Freedom act because it sets high a standard. In short it would cut off the Building Blocks of foreign intelligence investigations. We have worked together in a bipartisan manner and created a solid bill. Now, it ends bulk collection of all metadata by the government. Those that say this bill will legalize bulk collection are wrong. They are trying to scare you by making you think there are monsters under the bed. There arent. We end all collection of metadata records. Im again saying, read the bill. Thats what the bill says. Theres nothing else in the bill. It states that we will end all bulk collection by the government. The u. S. Freedom act includes the necessary checks and balances across all three bruverages of government. It protects our branches of government. It protects our nation while protecting the nations privacy and Civil Liberties. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to submit a longer statement for the record. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore so ordered. The gentleman reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Rogers thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, who has been incredibly important, not only on forming this piece of legislation to find the right balance but his work across Northern Africa on boko haram before it was even popular and bringing attention and resources to important intelligence problems around the world in difficult places, a good friend and a great member and a great patriot, mr. Lobiondo from new jersey. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Lobiondo thank you, mr. Speaker. Let me start out by thanking my colleagues for bringing together an incredibly complicated and difficult issue that probably as recently as a couple months ago no one thought possible. Tremendous, tremendous accolades to chairman rogers, to mr. Ruppersberger, to mr. Sensenbrenner, to mr. Conyers on a whole host of issues that, again, are critically important to our nation. You have heard the chairman and mr. Ruppersberger outline some of the key portions of this, but i think it is critically important to stress that the protection of american Civil Liberties must always be a top priority and always will be a top priority. And this bipartisan bill underscores the importance of that while keeping our nation safe. The u. S. A. Freedom act increases transparency. Thats something that people have demanded. Increased transparency to the American People and allows for greater oversight. Something else that we listen to that people wanted to see. It firmly, as mr. Ruppersberger and mr. Rogers have stated, ends bulk collection records. This is critically important. And it reforms the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court on fisa to ensure greater checks and balances are placed in such sensitive National Security programs. But as we discuss this, lets not miss the bigger picture. I have had the opportunity to see firsthand in some pretty dark and remote places on the earth how our enemies are plotting not just on a daily basis, but on a minutebyminute basis on how to find a chink in our armor. How can they find some gap which will allow them to attack our homeland, to attack our citizens. This is a constant and ongoing threat. This bill strikes the balance to allow that transparency for Civil Liberties, but while it underscores the ability of our Intelligence Community to be able to do their job. And having been, as mr. Rogers indicated, firsthand in some very remote places on the earth, weve got some incredibly dedicated people who are putting their lives at risk every day to protect this country. This is a good bill, lets pass it. I yield back. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan continue to reserve. Mr. Rogers continue to reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland is recognized. Mr. Ruppersberger i yield one minute to ms. Jan schakowsky, a very important member of our Intelligence Committee who focuses very strongly on issues of privacy and Constitutional Rights and peoples rights. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from illinois is recognized for one minute. Ms. Schakowsky thank you, mr. Speaker. As a cosponsor of the u. S. A. Freedom act and a member of the Permanent Select Committee on intelligence, i have been committed to reforming these laws. No bill is perfect, including this one. The u. S. A. Freedom act we are voting on today is quite different from the original bill i cosponsored. It has changed significantly from the version recently passed by the house intelligence and Judiciary Committees. On its path to the floor several of the bills proposed reforms have been watereddown and many of us would like to see more meaningful change, however we must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I want to congratulate all those who have been part of this bipartisan compromise. The bill we are considering today includes real reforms and the intent of congress is clear. We are putting an end to the bulk collection of metadata, and ensuring that important fisa Court Decisions are declassified for public consumption. These reforms are important and future interpretations of fisa must reflect our intentions here today. I support the act and i look forward to the opportunity to continue to work with my colleagues to make even more improvements in the in you ture. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired in the future. Improvements in the future. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. Mr. Rogers i yield one minute to mr. Reed of new york for a colloquy. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. Mr. Reed thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Chairman, i rise today to commend your efforts along with those of the Judiciary Committee in bringing this legislation to the floor of the house. As you and i have met and discussed on fume russ occasions along with my good friend from indiana, mr. Stutzman, this issue is important to not only many of my constituents back in western new york but also to our country. Provisions in this bill such as the reforms made to bulk Data Collection and enhanced declassification requirements are specific ideas that were shared with me by constituents in western new york and brought to here in washington, d. C. As you know im happy to report through our work with you these provisions were incorporated into this legislation. Mr. Chairman, as this bill moves forward, i hope i have your commitment to continue to Work Together to assure that a balance between National Security and the protection of our personal freedoms is achieved. Thank you again and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from michigan reserves. Mr. Rogers actually if i may continue. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Rogers i would thank the gentleman from new york for his diligent work on this issue since last summer. Mr. Reeds work along with mr. Stutzman from indiana was critical to ensuring we struck the right balance on this legislation. Would not have been able to find that sweet spot that got us to a strong bipartisan agreement without input from these and other members interested in finding a solution. Again i want to thank the gentleman from new york for his interest, his time, and his effort to help be a part of the forging of this important piece of legislation. With that, sir, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman continues to reserve. The gentleman from michigan maryland is recognized. Mr. Ruppersberger mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to mr. Langevin from rhode island, an expert in cybersecurity. The years i have been in congress i worked with mr. Langevin on this issue. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from rhode island is recognized for one minute. Mr. Langevin i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Langevin i thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, i rise in strong support of the u. S. A. Freedom act and want to thank and congratulate all those who had a hand in crafting the legislation before us. Particularly chairman rogers and Ranking Member ruppersberger. Changes to our National Security program should not be taken lightly. This compromise legislation is the result of a vigorous debate and careful consideration. As chairman rogers pointed out, with all the reviews and investigations that have taken place with respect to the bulk collection program,