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John Fleming on Homeland Security

 

 


Dems soft on national defense & undermine morale of troops

As a nation, we must be united against our enemies, whether they are nations or terrorists organizations. Frankly, I abhor the way modern Democrats are soft on national defense and how they undermine the morale and the mission of our troops.

I will proudly stand with the men and women who are serving our nation and the cause of freedom. Fort Polk and Barksdale Air Force Base are mission critical to US defense capability, & I will be the strongest possible advocate for these great military assets.

Source: 2008 House campaign website, flemingforcongress.com "Issues" , Dec 6, 2008

Member of House Committee on Armed Services.

Fleming is a member of the House Committee on Armed Services

United States House Committee on Armed Services retains exclusive jurisdiction for: defense policy generally, ongoing military operations, the organization and reform of the Department of Defense and Department of Energy, counter-drug programs, acquisition and industrial base policy, technology transfer and export controls, joint interoperability, the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, Department of Energy nonproliferation programs, and detainee affairs and policy.

Source: U.S. House of Representatives website, www.house.gov 11-HC-AS on Feb 3, 2011

Sponsored opposing the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.

Fleming co-sponsored Resolution on UN

Congressional Summary:Expressing the conditions for the US becoming a signatory to the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

  1. the President should not sign the Arms Trade Treaty, and that the Senate should not ratify the ATT; and
  2. that no Federal funds should be authorized to implement the ATT.

Opponent`s argument against bill:(United Nations press release, June 3, 2013):

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [said] "With the ATT, the world has decided to finally put an end to the 'free-for-all' nature of international weapons transfers. From now on, weapons and ammunition should only cross borders after the exporter confirms that the transfer complies with internationally agreed standards. The Treaty will provide an effective deterrent against excessive and destabilizing arms flows, particularly in conflict-prone regions. It will make it harder for weapons to be diverted into the illicit market, to reach warlords, pirates, terrorists and criminals, or to be used to commit grave human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law."

Source: S.CON.RES.7 & H.CON.RES.23 : 13-HCR23 on Mar 13, 2013

Restrict domestic monitoring of phone calls.

Fleming signed restricting domestic monitoring of phone calls

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2014 or the USA FREEDOM Act: Congressional Summary:

  • Requires the FBI, when seeking phone call records, to show both relevance and a reasonable suspicion that the specific selection term is associated with a foreign power engaged in international terrorism.
  • Requires a judge approving the release, on a daily basis, of call detail records; and to limit production of records to a period of 180 days.
  • Requires a declassification review of each decision issued by the FISA court; and make such decisions publicly available, subject to permissible redactions.

    Opposing argument: (ACLU, `Surveillance Reform After the USA Freedom Act`, June 3, 2015): The USA Freedom Act that passed by a 67-32 margin is not as strong as we wanted. It is markedly weaker than the original version of the USA Freedom Act that the ACLU first supported in 2013. We supported a sunset of the provisions in an effort to advance more comprehensive reform, including rejecting surveillance through cybersecurity information-sharing legislation. Notwithstanding this, however, it is very clear that the USA Freedom Act is a historic step forward.

    Opposing argument: (Cato Institute , `Cato scholars differ on USA Freedom Act`, Oct., 2015): The privacy community remained divided over the USA Freedom Act. The final version of the bill reauthorized several expiring Patriot Act provisions, but limited bulk collection. Some legislators argued that to pass new legislation would only provide the government convenient new legal justification for its spying--which it would interpret broadly. On the opposite side of the argument stood some pro-privacy groups who held that modest reforms were better than no reforms at all.

    Source: H.R.2048&S.2685 14-H2048 on Apr 28, 2015

    End bulk data collection under USA PATRIOT Act.

    Fleming co-sponsored USA FREEDOM Act

    Congressional summary:: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet-collection, and Online Monitoring Act or the USA FREEDOM Act: