WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement regarding his vote on McCain Amendment #4787 to the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriation bill for FY 2017:

“Today I voted in favor of legislation requested by the Obama Administration that would create regulatory parity for the FBI’s access to electronic communications transaction records, whether from traditional telephone communications or Internet-based communications.

“As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I continuously see the threats from those who do our country harm.  We must ensure that our intelligence and law-enforcement professionals have the lawful and reasonable tools they need to keep Americans safe.

“It is also incumbent upon us to ensure robust and effective oversight of these authorities, and to strike an appropriate balance between protection of civil liberties and protection of our nation’s security. I believe this legislation upholds civil liberties protections by restricting access to transactional information and excluding more sensitive data such as geolocation information and the content of communications. At the same time I recognize concerns with the past use of National Security Letters by the FBI, including those documented by the Inspector General, and expect the FBI to uphold its commitments to more stringent internal safeguards. Further, I would welcome Administration action on its early proposals to make the process more transparent, including consideration of limits on ‘gag orders’ as proposed by the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies.

“A wide-ranging appropriations bill should not be the forum for making significant changes to our country’s national security policies. Congress needs to have a more engaged conversation about lawful surveillance in the digital age, with a more holistic evaluation of these interrelated issues. For that reason, I have proposed the Digital Security Commission Act of 2016 (S.2604) with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX). This legislation would create a panel of experts representing all of the interests at stake so we can evaluate and improve America’s security posture as technology — and our adversaries — evolve. Our proposal would convene the brightest minds from the technology sector, the legal world, computer science and cryptography, academia, civil liberties and privacy advocates, law enforcement and intelligence to collaboratively explore the intersection of technology and security. This would not be a group of politicians debating one another. Nor would the commission be like other blue-ribbon panels, quickly established but soon forgotten. Rather, it would be charged with generating much-needed data and developing a range of actionable recommendations that can protect privacy and public safety.”

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