{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s1123-114/featured_uniting-and-strengthening-america-by-fulfilling-rights-and-ensuring-effective-discipline-over-monitoring-act-of-1454549770.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s1123-114/featured_large_uniting-and-strengthening-america-by-fulfilling-rights-and-ensuring-effective-discipline-over-monitoring-act-of-1454549770.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s1123-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2015-04-28","title_override":"Reforming The Federal Government’s Surveillance Program","summary_override":"

This bill aims to reform the National Security Agency (NSA) and change its policies around surveilling people in the U.S.

It would stop the federal government's bulk collection of metadata — like phone call records relating to a specific area code, phone provider, geographic region, or zip code. The government would also have to make public the number of people it collects data on.

Instead, NSA would be offered the authority to request calling records from phone companies for specific reasons. Even then, the government would have to get rid of information that did not have intelligence value and their operations would be subject to stronger oversight.

Big name tech companies have an agreement with the US government that prevents companies from revealing much about the amount of data the government collects.The bill would allow tech companies to report in more detail to the public on surveillance requests they receive from the government.

","official_title":"A bill to reform the authorities of the Federal Government to require the production of certain business records, conduct electronic surveillance, use pen registers and trap and trace devices, and use other forms of information gathering for foreign intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal purposes, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015 or the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015\n\nTITLE I--FISA BUSINESS RECORDS REFORMS\n\nAmends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to establish a new process to be followed when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) submits an application to a FISA court for an order requiring the production of business records or other tangible things for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities.\n\nProhibits the FBI from applying for a tangible thing production order, and prohibits a court from authorizing the collection of tangible things, unless a specific selection term is used as the basis for the production. Maintains limitations under current law that prohibit the FBI from applying for tangible thing production orders for threat assessments.\n\n...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable. ","impact":"People who use technology that can be surveilled by the federal government; communication and tech companies; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the National Security Agency. ","argument_for":"The Obama Administration’s data collection program violates the privacy of people in the U.S. While there should be no data mining, but if it happens, there need to be more regulations to keep the NSA accountable for its surveillance.","argument_against":"The federal intelligence community should be given free rein to collect data, so it can effectively protect the country against terrorists. If people have something to hide, perhaps they shouldn't be doing it at all. ","bill_type":"s","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"s1123-114","bill_id":"s1123-114","formal_id":"S. 1123","chamber":"senate","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2015-04-28T00:00:00.000Z","active":false,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":null,"debated_on":null,"congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/senate-bill/1123","plain_text_url":"http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114s1123is/html/BILLS-114s1123is.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s1123-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/senate-bill/1123/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2015-04-28","related_bill_ids":["hr1056-114","hr2048-114","s1318-114","s1469-114"],"progress":"Introduced","house_passage_result":false,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":101,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on the Judiciary","chamber":"senate","committee_id":"SSJU","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=s1123-114","details":"/api/bills/s1123-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/s1123-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/s1123-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/s1123-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":18,"slug":"s1123-114-uniting-and-strengthening-america-by-fulfilling-rights-and-ensuring-effective-discipline-over-monitoring-act-of-2015","latest_chamber_votes_id":null,"official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":1880,"yea_vote_count":1531,"nay_vote_count":344,"passed_house":false,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["defense","crime-and-police"],"issue_ids":["defense","crime-and-police","privacy","technology"],"sponsor_id":540}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"defense","name":"Defense","slug":"defense","description":"Federal legislation related to Defense spending, the active duty military, intelligence activities, war powers and veterans’ care. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.","page_title":"US Armed forces and Defense related Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/defense/black_defense-1429042040.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/defense/grey_defense-1429042040.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/defense/white_defense-1429042040.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"crime-and-police","name":"Crime & Police","slug":"crime-and-police","description":"Federal legislation related to the prevention of crimes(from assault to organized crime to juvenile crime), firearms and explosives, correctional facilities and terrorism. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.","page_title":"Crime Prevention Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/crime-and-police/black_crime-and-police-1429042040.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/crime-and-police/grey_crime-and-police-1429042040.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/crime-and-police/white_crime-and-police-1429042040.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"privacy","name":"Privacy","slug":"privacy","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Privacy. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Privacy Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/privacy/black_privacy-1429042048.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/privacy/grey_privacy-1429042048.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/privacy/white_privacy-1429042048.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"technology","name":"Technology","slug":"technology","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Technology . Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Technology Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/technology/black_technology-1429042051.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/technology/grey_technology-1429042051.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/technology/white_technology-1429042051.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"Rita ","vote_count":1370,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/Q9z8y1MZ/following","followers":"/api/users/Q9z8y1MZ/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":3,"is_following":null,"influence_score":490,"influence_level":20,"follower_count":5,"following_count":2,"position_count":484,"id":"Q9z8y1MZ","partner_id":null},{"name":"Loraki","vote_count":1215,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8mrgkD9d/large_8mrgkd9d-1485722796.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8mrgkD9d/small_8mrgkd9d-1485722796.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8mrgkD9d/tiny_8mrgkd9d-1485722796.jpg","facebook":"https://graph.facebook.com/100000827158540/picture"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/8mrgkD9d/following","followers":"/api/users/8mrgkD9d/followers"},"about_me":"I'm a member of the Church of Christ (non-institutional). God gave us a pattern to follow for the Church and for how we should live. He DIDN'T say that following it is OPTIONAL! Nor did He say we could make changes to His pattern! I believe that there will be an eternal home of the soul - Heaven or Hell - and that Christ will judge us on the last day. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God!\n\nI am NOT\n• a Catholic\n• a Protestant\n• a Baptist\n• a Methodist\n• a Mormon\n• an Episcopalian\n• a Pentacostal\nor member of any other denomination.\n\n• I AM A CHRISTIAN, PERIOD!\n• I AM A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PERIOD! \n• I ACKNOWLEDGE NO HEAD OF THE CHURCH EXCEPT CHRIST JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, PERIOD! \n• I FOLLOW NO MANMADE CREED, BUT THE BIBLE ONLY, WHICH IS THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD, PERIOD!\n\nI'm a 4th. generation Texan & the mother of 2 sons. I'm retired. I love the mountains and I like Oberhasli dairy goats, organic gardening, science fiction, astronomy, camping, and hunting. I'm very fond of my OESheepdog and my Norwegian Forest cat, too.\n\n• I'm a Constitutional Conservative and a patriot. \n•. I support the Tea Party. \n• I'm for limited government and free market capitalism. \n• I'm also for school choice and school prayer. \n• I'm against abortion and same-sex \"marriage\". \n• I'm TOTALLY AGAINST the implementation of Shariah law at any level in the United States! \n• I'm for SECURE BORDERS and reduced immigration, especially of Muslims! \n• I believe ALL illegal aliens should be deported. Those who enter our country illegally should not be given special privileges at the taxpayers' expense! \n• I believe that Congress should balance the budget and Uncle Sam should live within his means - without raising taxes! \n• I also believe in \"peace through strength\" - keep our military strong and keep out the transgenders! Freedom of religion applies to the military as well as civilians! I'm AGAINST allowing foreigners to join our military! That includes Obama's Dreamers! \n• I want to see a ban on GMOs! \n• I want to see the federal government OUT OF education! \n• Audit the Fed! \n• Abolish the IRS! \n• Just say \"NO\" to political correctness and race-baiting!\n\nThis is not a complete description of what I stand for. If you have specific questions about me, it can't hurt to ask! I might even answer! :-D #MakeDCListen\n\nTHIS IS MY COUNTRY!\n\nI AM TIRED OF AND FED UP WITH MUSLIM JIHADISTS AND ILLEGAL ALIENS IN MY COUNTRY, WHO ARE BRINGING DRUGS, DISEASE, AND CRIME, WHILE BEING CODDLED BY MY GOVERNMENT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE AMERICAN CITIZENS! IT'S NOT RIGHT FOR US TO HAVE TO SUFFER THIS INVASION BY PEOPLE WHO DON'T RESPECT OUR LAWS, OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, OUR FLAG, OUR LANGUAGE (That's ENGLISH!), OR OUR CULTURE! AND I'M TIRED OF AND FED UP WITH HAVING TO \"PRESS 1 FOR ENGLISH\"! WE NEED A MORATORIUM ON MUSLIM IMMIGRATION AND WE NEED TO KICK OUT ALL OF THE ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO BY DEFINITION ARE CRIMINALS! WE NEED TO MAKE OUR GOVERNMENT UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON'T WANT AMERICA TURNED INTO A THIRD WORLD CESSPOOL!\n\nI AM NOT ANTI-IMMIGRANT. I AM FOR THE RULE OF LAW. I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR YOUR SKIN IS OR WHAT YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE IS. BUT IF YOU COME TO MY COUNTRY TO LIVE, I EXPECT YOU TO LEARN AND SPEAK ENGLISH AND TO OBEY OUR LAWS! NONE OF THAT SHARIAH STUFF! WE HAVE FREEDOM OF RELIGION HERE IN AMERICA, AND ISLAM IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO THAT FREEDOM! SPARE ME YOUR TAQIYYA AND HUDNA! YOU WANT TO BELIEVE MUHAMMAD IS A PROPHET OF GOD? THAT IS YOUR RIGHT, BUT IT IS OUR RIGHT TO DISAGREE WITH YOUR BELIEFS. IT IS NOT YOUR RIGHT TO KILL US FOR DISAGREEING! IF YOU DON'T LIKE OUR LAWS, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO TRY TO CHANGE THEM THROUGH LEGAL AND PEACEFUL MEANS, BUT MANY OF US WILL PEACEFULLY AND RESPECTFULLY (insofar as it is possible) DO OUR UTMOST TO PREVENT YOU FROM SUCCEEDING, IF YOUR GOAL IS CULTURAL AND POLITICAL JIHAD.\n\nTHIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND WE HAVE A HERITAGE OF HONOR, PRIDE AND COURAGE. OUR NATION, MOREOVER, WAS FOUNDED ON CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES! OUR REVERENCE FOR GOD AND HIS CHRIST AND THE HOLY BIBLE IS WHAT ENABLED AMERICA TO BECOME GREATLY BLESSED BY GOD. WE HAVE OUR PROBLEMS; WE ARE NOT PERFECT, BUT WE WILL FIGHT THE POWERS OF DARKNESS AND EVIL, SO HELP US, GOD!\n\nTHIS IS AMERICA! LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!!!","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":"lafigarus","youtube_id":"LauraroseofTexas","google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"loraki","issue_count":120,"is_following":null,"influence_score":47120,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":535,"following_count":3688,"position_count":920,"id":"8mrgkD9d","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"52af7643-4297-42fc-b101-81547c514a5b","argument_for":"We have no safety or liberty.","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":1,"upvotes_for_count":1,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":1,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/52af7643-4297-42fc-b101-81547c514a5b"},"body":"We have no safety or liberty.","stance":"yea","created_at":"2016-02-25T00:03:38.180Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/52af7643-4297-42fc-b101-81547c514a5b.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"s1123-114","user_id":"Q9z8y1MZ","endorser_ids":["8mrgkD9d"]}}

Like Causes?

Rita

Reforming The Federal Government’s Surveillance Program