Statement on the Amash Amendment

Statement

Congressman Denny Heck has issued the following statement regarding the proposed Amash Amendment to H.R. 2397, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act:

"I believe any sort of government intelligence program needs to adhere to the Constitution and federal laws, needs to be subject to rigorous oversight, and needs to respect the privacy of Americans as much as possible without endangering national security.

I also believe any changes to the laws that surround government intelligence programs should be considered on their own after a broad national conversation and open Congressional debate, not attached at the last minute to a Defense Department funding bill as the Amash amendment attempted to do. This was not the appropriate venue to make such a sweeping and sudden change to government intelligence programs, but I am open to the idea of considering thoughtful changes to these programs in the future."

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