Government Spying – An Update In early July, I joined with Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) and fourteen other Members of Congress in filing an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of a motion to disclose Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA court) secret opinions interpreting Section 215 of the Patriot Act. I am pleased to report that the FISA court recently ordered that the Just... Read more »
Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement regarding newly declassified documents that pertain to the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program on American citizens: “It is clear to me that Congress should stop this NSA spying program. On July 24, I voted in favor of the Amash-Conyers amendment to rein in the NSA spying program, and I believe it is imperative that ... Read more »
Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today issued the following statement in response to the newly-declassified Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court) opinions: “I am pleased that the Administration is finally releasing several of the FISA Court rulings which show some of their reasoning in allowing the NSA surveillance programs to seize our phone records, etc. Parts of the court’s opi... Read more »
NSA Privacy Violations The Washington Post recently published an article that detailed an internal audit indicating that the National Security Agency (NSA) breaks privacy rules “thousands of times per year.” This May 2012 audit finds 2,776 “incidents” – instances in which rules or court orders regarding domestic surveillance were violated – from April 2011 through March 2012. Intelligence official... Read more »
Meeting with Local Officials I recently had the opportunity to visit with local officials from each community in the Ninth District of Virginia, thanking them for their service and discussing their successes, issues they face, and expectations for the future. Local officials from each of the Ninth District’s 29 jurisdictions were invited to these meetings, which we scheduled over a five day perio... Read more »
Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s statement today on improving oversight of the NSA’s surveillance activities: “I look forward to seeing the FISA Court opinions and the reasoning of the court that the President indicated the Administration will release. While I understand they may need to protect names and other personal information, I ho... Read more »
The NSA and You Since the story broke of the massive National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs collecting the phone records of all Americans, some have stood up in defense of these programs, insisting that Members of Congress have broad oversight over their implementation. However, I have tried for the past six weeks to read the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA court) opin... Read more »
During debate on the Department of Defense appropriations bill, Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) was allotted 30 seconds of debate time with which to express his support for the Amash-Conyers amendment, which would end authority for the blanket collection of records under the Patriot Act. This amendment would also bar the NSA and other agencies from using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collec... Read more »
Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) released the following statement after the defeat of the Amash-Conyers amendment: “While the Amash-Conyers amendment that would rein in the NSA’s data gathering capabilities on U.S. citizens who aren’t suspects failed, I am proud to be a part of a bipartisan group of Congressmen and women who believe our first duty is to protect and uphold the freedoms recognized... Read more »
Immigration, Coal, and Zimmerman Immigration I have received quite a few questions about developments on immigration reform. I believe our immigration system is broken, but do not believe that legislation recently passed by the Senate is the solution. The Senate passed one nearly 1,200-page bill. This is a large bill that tries to deal with all of the nation’s immigration issues. In contrast, the... Read more »
