Email Privacy Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, the passage of the Email Privacy Act is an enormous victory. It is a victory for all Americans who believe in the right to privacy, in the Fourth Amendment, and in due process.

The Email Privacy Act mandates, for the first time, that Americans have the same legal protection for their emails as they do for papers, letters, faxes, and other old communications. The bill protects those of us--myself included and many Members of this body--who have email accounts in the cloud. Maybe it is Google mail or Yahoo Mail or AOL or other email accounts on their hard drives. It makes sure that the government doesn't have the right, without a warrant, to search emails that are older than 180 days.

This bill is also a victory for bipartisanship. When I introduced the bill, along with my colleague Mr. Yoder, in the winter of 2015, we knew it would be popular. Yet, as this bill sits before us today, ready for passage, I am very proud to say it has garnered 314 cosponsors, and it stands as the single most popular bill in this session of the House of Representatives. I am excited that it is scheduled for a floor vote.

When Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act in 1986, electronic communications were different than they are today. They didn't really exist as such. A few professors were using a predecessor for the Internet. It was not a mass form of communication. Today, with 24/7 accessibility with mobile devices and laptops, over 205 billion emails are sent every day, according to some estimates, including many that contain our private communications for millions of Americans who deserve the same right to privacy as documents in a file cabinet.

With the passage of the Email Privacy Act, Congress will ensure that your emails that are older than 180 days are subject to the same protection under the Fourth Amendment. You often hear Members on both sides of the aisle talk about commonsense bills. When you read our bill and when you look at the immense support, there is nothing more common sense than the Email Privacy Act.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and pass the bill. I urge the Senate to take it up and act. There is the unanimous support from the House Judiciary Committee and, as of today--hopefully soon-- overwhelming support on the floor of the House. This bill should be passed. It should be brought to the desk of the President of the United States. We should finally bring our email privacy laws into the 21st century.

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