Jim Sensenbrenner blasts Congress for ‘fearmongering’ following Paris attacks

One of the chief architects of the post-9/11 Patriot Act has urged fellow members of Congress to keep a level head after Friday’s terrorist attack in Paris prompted some government officials to advocate for expanded authority.

“The tragedy and acts of terrorism recently perpetrated in Paris, France have inspired impassioned responses to our nation’s problems. However, these horrific actions are no excuse for the knee-jerk reactions, political platitudes, and fear mongering we’ve been experiencing from some of my colleagues in its aftermath,” Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Republican, said in a statement Tuesday.

Mr. Sensenbrenner, the chair of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, was elected to Congress in 1978 and is credited with crafting key components of the Patriot Act introduced weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

But despite being involved with a bill notorious for its impact on civil liberties, Mr. Sensenbrenner has heavily critiqued the legislation in the years since. In 2013, he introduced the USA Freedom Act in an effort to rein in the surveillance powers of the National Security Agency after leaked documents exposed the extent of the NSA’s spying operations.

Congress passed that bill earlier this year, and the telephone metadata collection program revealed through the NSA leaks will be largely curbed later this month as a result.

In the wake of Friday’s terrorist attacks, however, Mr. Sensenbrenner and his anti-surveillance allies are finding opposition in Washington from officials gunning for greater authority: Senator Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would keep the USA Freedom Act from being implemented until 2017, and the chairman of the FCC, Thomas Wheeler, advocated the same day for broadening the scope of existing wiretap law so the government has greater access to communications that occur outside the scope of traditional mediums.

“The USA Freedom Act was carefully crafted to protect constitutional rights without risking national security. It was passed with the support of the NSA. Any claim that USA Freedom hindered the NSA is fearmongering plain and simple,” Mr. Sensenbrenner responded. “In fact, the bill’s changes were phased in over a six-month grace period and haven’t even taken effect yet. This attack happened despite the government’s bulk collection of innocent Americans’ phone data. Once again, bulk collection is not the answer.”