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WASHINGTON – Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., today voted in favor of legislation to reform the nation’s intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) while preserving tools critical to safeguarding America.

“Congress should be vigilant in ensuring that the government doesn't infringe upon the constitutional rights of individual Americans, and I believe this legislation renews a focus on the civil liberties of our citizens while providing appropriate, narrow authorities to meet the country’s national security needs,” said Foxx.

H.R. 2048, the USA FREEDOM Act, would protect civil liberties by ending bulk data collection and specifically prohibiting large-scale, indiscriminate collection of data such as all records from an entire state, city or zip code. 

It also improves transparency by making significant FISA interpretations available to the public and requiring the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence to disclose how they use these national security authorities.

Additionally the legislation would strengthen national security by closing a loophole in current law that requires the government to stop tracking foreign terrorists when they enter the United States, increasing the statutory maximum prison sentence to 20 years for providing material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization and enhancing investigations of international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The House passed H.R. 2048 by a vote of 338-88. 

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U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx represents North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and is the elected Republican Conference Secretary. Dr. Foxx is the chair of the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and serves as Vice Chair of the House Rules Committee.