H5900 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 12, 2012 

end-run around the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, FISC, by allowing the government to conduct surveillance without a FISC 

warrant. Such a broad exercise of power undermines our system of checks and balances 

and has grave implications for the protection 

of our constitutional rights. We should be enhancing the role of the FISC to ensure that the 

rights of American citizens are protected while 

the government collects intelligence to help 

defend our nation. 

Additionally, the five-year extension provided by this legislation will ensure that regardless of which candidate wins the presidency on November 6, their administration will 

have these powers for the length of their term. 

A shorter extension would allow Congress to 

conduct the proper oversight over the use of 

these authorities and to better examine whether such authorities are still necessary to ensure the protection of our citizens. 

Regardless of who is in the White House, it 

is the duty of this body to ensure that the 

power of the executive branch is not unfettered and that proper oversight is conducted. 

It is in this spirit that I cast my vote against 

this legislation today. 

Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the reauthorization of the 2008 

FISA Amendments Act, as it violates the 

Fourth Amendment of our Constitution. Supporters of this reauthorization claim that the 

United States will be more vulnerable if the 

government is not allowed to monitor citizens 

without a warrant. I would argue that we are 

more vulnerable if we do allow the government to monitor Americans without a warrant. 

Nothing makes us more vulnerable than allowing the Constitution to be violated. 

Passage of this reauthorization will allow the 

government to listen in to our phone calls, 

read our personal correspondence, and monitor our activities without obtaining a warrant. 

Permission for surveillance obtained by a secret FISA court can cover broad categories of 

targets rather than specific individuals, as the 

Fourth Amendment requires. Americans who 

communicate with someone who is suspected 

of being affiliated with a target group can be 

monitored without a warrant. The only restriction is that Americans on U.S. soil are not to 

be the primary targets of the surveillance. That 

is hardly reassuring. U.S. intelligence agencies 

are not to target Americans on U.S. soil, but 

as we all know telephone conversations usually take place between two people. If on the 

other end of the international conversation is 

an American, his conversation is monitored, 

recorded, transcribed, and kept for future use. 

According to press reports earlier this summer, the Director of National Intelligence admitted to the Senate that ‘‘on at least one occasion’’ U.S. intelligence collection agencies 

violated the Constitutional prohibitions on unlawful search and seizure. Without possibility 

for oversight of the process and with the absence of transparency, we will never know just 

how many Americans have been wiretapped 

without warrants. 

Creating a big brother surveillance state 

here is no solution to threats that may exist 

from abroad. I urge my colleagues to reject 

these FISA amendments and return to the 

Constitution. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time 

for debate on the bill has expired. 

Pursuant to House Resolution 773, 

the previous question is ordered on the 

bill, as amended. 

The question is on the engrossment 

and third reading of the bill. 

The bill was ordered to be engrossed 

and read a third time, and was read the 

third time. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the passage of the bill. 

The question was taken; and the 

Speaker pro tempore announced that 

the ayes appeared to have it. 

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. 

f 

RECESS 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 12(a) of rule I, the Chair 

declares the House in recess for a period of less than 15 minutes. 

Accordingly (at 4 o’clock and 29 minutes p.m.), the House stood in recess. 

f 

b 1644 

AFTER RECESS 

The recess having expired, the House 

was called to order by the Speaker pro 

tempore (Mr. REED) at 4 o’clock and 44 

minutes p.m. 

f 

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER 

PRO TEMPORE 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, proceedings 

will resume on questions previously 

postponed. 

Votes will be taken in the following 

order: H.R. 5949; and suspending the 

rules and passing H.R. 3857 and H.R. 

5865. 

The first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. Remaining 

electronic votes will be conducted as 5- 

minute votes. 

f 

FISA AMENDMENTS ACT 

REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2012 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The unfinished business is the vote on the passage of the bill (H.R. 5949) to extend the 

FISA Amendments Act of 2008 for five 

years, on which the yeas and nays were 

ordered. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the passage of the bill. 

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were—yeas 301, nays 

118, not voting 10, as follows: 

[Roll No. 569] 

YEAS—301 

Ackerman 

Adams 

Aderholt 

Alexander 

Altmire 

Amodei 

Austria 

Baca 

Bachmann 

Bachus 

Barber 

Barletta 

Barrow 

Bartlett 

Barton (TX) 

Bass (NH) 

Benishek 

Berg 

Berkley 

Berman 

Biggert 

Bilbray 

Bilirakis 

Bishop (GA) 

Bishop (NY) 

Bishop (UT) 

Black 

Blackburn 

Bonner 

Bono Mack 

Boren 

Boswell 

Boustany 

Brady (TX) 

Brooks 

Buchanan 

Bucshon 

Buerkle 

Burgess 

Burton (IN) 

Calvert 

Camp 

Campbell 

Canseco 

Cantor 

Capito 

Carnahan 

Carter 

Cassidy 

Castor (FL) 

Chabot 

Chaffetz 

Chandler 

Cicilline 

Clyburn 

Coble 

Coffman (CO) 

Cole 

Conaway 

Connolly (VA) 

Cooper 

Costa 

Cravaack 

Crawford 

Crenshaw 

Critz 

Cuellar 

Culberson 

Denham 

Dent 

DesJarlais 

Deutch 

Diaz-Balart 

Dicks 

Dold 

Donnelly (IN) 

Dreier 

Duffy 

Duncan (SC) 

Ellmers 

Emerson 

Farenthold 

Fattah 

Fincher 

Fitzpatrick 

Flake 

Fleischmann 

Fleming 

Flores 

Forbes 

Fortenberry 

Foxx 

Franks (AZ) 

Frelinghuysen 

Gallegly 

Garamendi 

Gardner 

Garrett 

Gerlach 

Gibbs 

Gingrey (GA) 

Gohmert 

Gonzalez 

Goodlatte 

Gosar 

Gowdy 

Granger 

Graves (GA) 

Graves (MO) 

Green, Al 

Green, Gene 

Griffin (AR) 

Griffith (VA) 

Grimm 

Guinta 

Guthrie 

Gutierrez 

Hall 

Hanabusa 

Hanna 

Harper 

Harris 

Hartzler 

Hastings (WA) 

Hayworth 

Heck 

Heinrich 

Hensarling 

Herrera Beutler 

Higgins 

Himes 

Hinojosa 

Hochul 

Holden 

Hoyer 

Huelskamp 

Huizenga (MI) 

Hultgren 

Hunter 

Hurt 

Issa 

Jenkins 

Johnson (OH) 

Johnson, Sam 

Jordan 

Kaptur 

Kelly 

King (IA) 

King (NY) 

Kingston 

Kinzinger (IL) 

Kissell 

Kline 

Labrador 

Lamborn 

Lance 

Landry 

Langevin 

Lankford 

Latham 

LaTourette 

Latta 

Levin 

Lewis (CA) 

Lipinski 

LoBiondo 

Loebsack 

Long 

Lowey 

Lucas 

Luetkemeyer 

Luja ́n 

Lummis 

Lungren, Daniel 

E. 

Lynch 

Mack 

Manzullo 

Marchant 

Marino 

Matheson 

McCarthy (CA) 

McCarthy (NY) 

McCaul 

McHenry 

McIntyre 

McKeon 

McKinley 

McMorris 

Rodgers 

McNerney 

Meehan 

Mica 

Miller (FL) 

Miller (MI) 

Miller (NC) 

Miller, Gary 

Mulvaney 

Murphy (PA) 

Myrick 

Neugebauer 

Noem 

Nugent 

Nunes 

Nunnelee 

Olson 

Palazzo 

Paulsen 

Pearce 

Pelosi 

Pence 

Perlmutter 

Peters 

Peterson 

Petri 

Pitts 

Platts 

Poe (TX) 

Pompeo 

Posey 

Price (GA) 

Quayle 

Quigley 

Rahall 

Reed 

Rehberg 

Reichert 

Renacci 

Reyes 

Ribble 

Richmond 

Rigell 

Rivera 

Roby 

Roe (TN) 

Rogers (AL) 

Rogers (KY) 

Rogers (MI) 

Rohrabacher 

Rokita 

Rooney 

Ros-Lehtinen 

Roskam 

Ross (AR) 

Ross (FL) 

Rothman (NJ) 

Royce 

Runyan 

Ruppersberger 

Ryan (OH) 

Scalise 

Schiff 

Schilling 

Schmidt 

Schock 

Schwartz 

Schweikert 

Scott (SC) 

Scott, Austin 

Scott, David 

Sensenbrenner 

Sessions 

Sewell 

Sherman 

Shimkus 

Shuler 

Shuster 

Simpson 

Sires 

Smith (NE) 

Smith (NJ) 

Smith (TX) 

Smith (WA) 

Southerland 

Stearns 

Stivers 

Stutzman 

Sullivan 

Terry 

Thompson (CA) 

Thompson (PA) 

Thornberry 

Tiberi 

Tipton 

Turner (NY) 

Turner (OH) 

Upton 

Walberg 

Walden 

Walsh (IL) 

Webster 

West 

Westmoreland 

Whitfield 

Wilson (SC) 

Wittman 

Wolf 

Womack 

Woodall 

Yarmuth 

Yoder 

Young (FL) 

Young (IN) 

NAYS—118 

Amash 

Andrews 

Baldwin 

Bass (CA) 

Becerra 

Blumenauer 

Bonamici 

Brady (PA) 

Braley (IA) 

Capps 

Capuano 

Carney 

Carson (IN) 

Chu 

Clarke (MI) 


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