Government Oversight & Ethics
More on Government Oversight & Ethics
While the federal government needs a warrant to seize your laptop, it can access revealing details through what lawmakers say is a glaring back door: cloud-stored metadata, the information tucked within files that offers clues about who created them, when and how.
The data may seem innocuous, given that it doesn't reveal the full contents of any given document, video or image. But lawmakers say it can be used to identify key facts in an investigation, such as who was involved, what role they played and when the events took place.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) introduced legislation to require governmental entities to obtain a warrant before requesting that an electronic communications provider disclose a customer's metadata, often referred to as data that describes other data. The Warrant for Metadata Actamends Section 2703 of the Stored Communications Act (SCA), which protects some electronic communications from unauthorized disclosure, to include metadata that is also stored electronically.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting answers on the Department of Justice's use of secrecy orders, which prevent technology companies from informing their customers about government demands for their data. The Members express concern over the threat to Americans' privacy the indefinite secrecy orders present when individuals' personal data is obtained by the government without them ever knowing.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) announced that a number of his priorities to help veterans in Los Angeles and around the country were included in the 2022 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which was signed into law by President Biden last week. The bill allocates a total of $112.2 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is a $7.8 billion increase from the previous year.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressmen Ted W. Lieu (D-CA-33) and Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34) sent a criminal referral to Attorney General Merrick Garland alleging that former President Donald Trump violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and Federal Election Commission regulations. Earlier this week, the former President appeared to directly solicit help for his re-election campaign from Russian President Vladimir Putin by requesting that Putin share negative information about President Biden and his family.
WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the House passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act. If enacted, this bipartisan bill will decriminalize cannabis at the federal level, while enabling states to set their own regulatory policies without threat of federal intervention. It takes long overdue steps to address the devastating injustices of the criminalization of cannabis and the vastly disproportionate impact it has had on communities of color.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County), Congresswoman Alma Adams, Ph.D. (D-NC), and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) led a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting updates on the ongoing bomb threats made against Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Since January 5th, 2022, there has been a wave of bomb threats made against HBCUs, including 14 on February 1st, the first day of Black History Month.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) and Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH) introduced the House version of legislation that will require public reporting and notice of the hundreds of thousands of criminal surveillance orders issued by courts each year.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) announced that he secured $3 million for three community funding projects in South Bay cities in the Fiscal Year 2022 government funding package signed into law by President Biden.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) is helping lead efforts to urge the Biden Administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Ukrainians during Russia's ongoing invasion. TPS provides protection from deportation for individuals of a country where conditions prevent them from returning.