Urge Your Rep. to Support These NDAA Amendments
Tomorrow, June 11th, 2024, the House Rules Committee will consider amendments proposed to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2025. We need you to write to your representative to voice your support for the following amendments:
1. Amendment #48, proposed by Rep. Rosendale (R-MT) - PROHIBITS MILITARY DETENTION OF U.S. CITIZENS.
This amendment comes at a crucial time when protesters are being detained for exercising their right to protest and assembly. Former President Trump indicated his intent to detain and deport suspected undocumented immigrants en masse, as well as people protesting for ceasefire in Gaza.
2. Amendment #47, proposed by Rep. Porter (D-CA) - PROHIBITS FEDERAL AGENCIES FROM PROMOTING THE WEAKENING OF ENCRYPTION; and Amendment #730, proposed by Rep. Davidson (R-OH) - PROHIBITS FUNDS FOR DOD/CIA/NSA TO REQUIRE ANY PERSON TO ALTER THEIR PRODUCT OR SERVICE TO ALLOW ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE.
Online commerce and US citizen privacy under the Fourth Amendment both depend critically on the broad availability of high-quality encryption. Services such as WhatsApp, Signal and Facebook Messenger are widely used and depended on by tens of millions. Law enforcement should not have routine, warrantless access to Americans' financial transactions or communications. Either of these Amendments would help to fix that problem and restore Americans' privacy.
3. Amendment #759, proposed by Rep. Tlaib (D-MI) - FIXES ABUSES OF ESPIONAGE ACT.
This Amendment would leave in place the uses of the Espionage Act to prosecute actual spies. It would limit prosecutions to foreign agents and government employees who have an actual duty to protect classified information or foreign agents; require that "national defense information" be properly classified; require specific intent to injure the United States or aid a foreign power; allow defendants to testify as to the purpose of their disclosures; and create an affirmative public interest defense. The WWI-era Espionage Act has been increasingly used by Presidents of both parties to prosecute U. S. citizen whistleblowers, including:
Please write to your representative today and ask that they support these amendments. They would protect Americans from unjust detainment and encryption backdoors, as well as ensure that whistleblowers are safe to disclose information that holds the government accountable for its actions.
Sponsored by
