The Republican Liberty Caucus of Oregon

Saturday April 13th, 2024

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of CD5 and Representative Cliff Bentz of CD2 voted yesterday in favor of the passage of H.R. 7888 the Reforming Intelligence And Securing America Act as amended.

The Act itself expands the surveillance state despite its title.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer voted also against Rep. Biggs’s amendment to the act that requires the FBI to obtain a warrant before spying on Americans under section 702 of FISA, which failed by one vote. This section is unconstitutional, which, in turn, makes the bill unconstitutional.

Additionally, Chaves-DeRemer voted for an amendment that expands the spying powers to foreigners coming to the United States and for another amendment that expands the definition of communications to include WIFi.

Nevertheless, Cliff Bentz’s vote for the overall passage does not make his position any better.

Oregon Republicans have always supported such unconstitutional spying powers without any uproar from Oregon’s conservatives. So the question here is, are we serious about protecting our rights and liberties, or is it just lip service that we pay during the election?