Van Orden Votes to Protect Americans’ Right to Privacy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) released the following statement after voting against the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA):

“As a former member of the United States Navy SEAL Teams responsible for conducting counterterrorism operations on multiple continents, I have dedicated my life to physically protecting American citizens. As a Member of Congress, it is now my duty to protect American citizens’ civil liberties. 

“Although there are many strong reforms to Section 702 of FISA, I do not have confidence that these reforms will be adhered to and believe that within a short period of time, either due to an event or institutional inertia, the weaponized intelligence agencies will return to their unlawful conduct. 

“Additionally, regardless of the penalties included in the Section 702 reforms, unless there are fundamental reforms to the institutions themselves, American citizens’ Constitutional rights will continue to be abused and the institutions will not be held accountable. This is unacceptable and is why I voted no on the FISA reform and reauthorization package.”