Dear Mr. casper, Since the revelations about the breadth and depth of the National Security Agency (NSA) spying first surfaced we have learned a lot. I wanted to take a moment and update you. We have heard from President Obama and even some elected representatives from Kansas that security in an age of terror is only possible by sacrificing our privacy to the federal government’s massive spying and data-gathering efforts. I disagree strenuously — further, this mindset troubles me deeply. Beyond the revelations that the NSA has the ability to log your calls, listen in, read your emails and monitor your internet traffic, I believe preservation of the Fourth Amendment is at stake here. What maybe is the most concerning is everything I know about how NSA is spying on and monitoring U.S. citizens I have learned from the news. The reticence of the Administration and congressional leadership to inform all of Congress and give an honest report to the American public regarding what is going on is beyond frustrating. In March the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper was asked the simple question, “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” His response was a flat out denial of any NSA surveillance of American citizens. We now know that was a lie. And then in mid-August the results from an internal audit of NSA surveillance were revealed. The report found 2,776 examples over a 12 month period of data collection where rules or court orders were violated. The cases where privacy rules were broken range from significant violations to instances where clerical errors led to the interception of U.S. emails and telephone calls. My concern is not only were mistakes made, but they were not reported and punished. How a system in a free government could even allow this to occur is beyond me. The Fourth Amendment states United States citizens are to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure. There are serious dangers of large-scale government intrusion into our private lives. I refuse to believe your privacy rights should be ceded in the name of so-called security. The government should always answer to citizens, and not the other way around. Please know I am committed to defending your Constitutional rights and it is an honor to serve as your representative in the Big First District of Kansas. Sincerely, Tim Huelskamp Member of Congress P.S. If you are interested in additional information regarding my work in Congress, visit my website (huelskamp.house.gov/subscribe) and sign up to receive my weekly newsletter. Too many newsletters? You can unsubscribe or better yet, schedule automatic cleanup.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 04:35:38 +0000
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