The USA Freedom Act contained “carefully crafted reforms” negotiated between House leaders and intelligence officials, and the Massie amendment would upset a “closely negotiated” compromise, said Representative Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The USA Freedom Act already limits what the NSA can do with the US data it collects, he said.
The amendment would “make our country less safe,” added Representative Dutch Ruppersberger from Maryland, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
Earlier on Thursday, the House, by voice vote, approved an amendment to the defense funding bill that prohibits the NSA from engaging in any activities that undermine encryption standards developed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology. In late 2013, news organizations reported that the NSA had tampered with NIST’s process of choosing encryption algorithms.
Representative Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat and author of the amendment, said the provision will help restore faith in NIST’s standards-setting process.
Grant Gross, IDG News Service
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