Richard Durbin

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, is an important tool for gathering foreign intelligence and keeping America safe, but this authority of the government also serves as a backdoor for warrantless surveillance of Americans right here at home. The Trump administration, led by Stephen Miller, has asked Congress for a no-strings-attached extension of section 702. There is a growing bipartisan recognition of the need to reform this surveillance tool to protect American privacy and civil liberties. Section 702 allows the government to collect the private communications of foreigners overseas without a warrant issued by a court. The problem is that millions--potentially billions--of innocent American communications with friends, family members, or coworkers abroad are being swept up in this collection. Once collected, the government can read Americans' private texts, emails and messages and even listen to phone calls without ever obtaining a warrant from a judge. To no one's surprise, without court approval for such searches, administrations of both parties have abused section 702 to spy on American families, including the families of protesters, Members of Congress, journalists, and even women on dating apps and rental tenants. We have every reason to believe that such abuses will continue, if not get worse, under the Trump administration as it is using every tool at its disposal to target political enemies and undermine the basic underpinnings of our democracy. Last year, the Trump administration conducted more than 23,000-- 23,000--warrantless searches of Americans' private phone calls, texts, and emails, and these are just the ones we know about. Every Member of Congress should also be concerned about the increase in so-called ``sensitive queries'' conducted by the FBI under Kash Patel's leadership. These are warrantless searches of section 702 data that target religious leaders, organizations, politicians, political organizations, and journalists. In 2025, the FBI conducted over three times as many sensitive queries as the Biden administration in 2024. We don't know whom the FBI has targeted using these sensitive queries, but we know under Kash Patel's leadership, the FBI has been all too willing to target political enemies to appease President Trump. The Trump administration also refuses to release the latest FISA Court ruling on section 702, which found ``deficiencies'' with how the administration is conducting searches on Americans. Rather than telling the American people what those deficiencies in the program are, the Trump administration is appealing the court's ruling. The American people deserve to see this opinion before their House Members and Senate Members vote on reauthorizing section 702. Senator Lee is a conservative Republican from Utah. He and I are working together. We have proposed a path forward with the bipartisan SAFE Act, which would reauthorize section 702 for 3 years, while including critical reforms to protect Americans' constitutional right. Our bill would require the government to obtain a judicial warrant before accessing American citizens' texts, emails, or phone calls that the government has collected using section 702. This would ensure independent, nonpartisan oversight of the government's use of this surveillance approach and stop this never- ending cycle of misuse under 702. Our warrant would protect Americans' privacy without jeopardizing national security. We have expressly included robust exceptions for legitimate security needs, including for what is known as exigent circumstances, where there is any threat to life and agents have no time to obtain a warrant. That, of course, is the response when we talk about changing this system: You are going to slow it down when we need it the most; there could be an emergency, and we have to move. We wrote expressly in our amendment that exigent circumstances could move forward in a state of emergency. The SAFE Act would also put an end to the government's practice of buying our personal data from third-party data brokers without a warrant. The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly used this loophole to track protesters in real time under the pretext that they are ``domestic terrorists.'' You remember the two individuals killed in Minneapolis by ICE? One of them was identified on the spot as a domestic terrorist--totally untrue. If the government wants to spy on Americans, it needs to get a warrant, court approval. It is based on what we know as the Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection. Period. That is why our amendment--our bipartisan amendment--is supported by conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats alike. The Senate could take up the SAFE Act and vote on it this week, and I hope we do. I believe there is broad bipartisan support for this bipartisan measure by Senator Lee and myself. Congress should also address the ill-advised expansion of section 702 that allows its use for surveillance for noncitizens traveling in the United States. This provision may be the reason Stephen Miller is the White House leading advocate for reauthorizing section 702. He reportedly views 702 as ``critical to a variety of Homeland Security missions.'' What could that possibly be? Immigration in the United States, even though this section is expressly focused on foreign intelligence abroad. If a reauthorization bill reaches the floor of the Senate, I will pursue an amendment to limit the government's ability to use section 702 for President Trump's mass deportation campaign. Some may argue that there is not enough time to enact reforms before section 702 expires--false. Section 702 surveillance operates under yearlong certifications approved by the FISA Court. Even if section 702 were to expire this week, the law makes it clear, the surveillance may continue until March of next year. There is no emergency excusing Congress from getting this right. This affects the privacy, potentially, of every American family. I will vote against any long-term extension of section 702 that gives this administration--or any administration--unfettered access to America's communications without a warrant. I urge my colleagues to do the same. I ask unanimous consent that the document that I have in my hand be entered in the Record with my statement just given on the floor of the Senate.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr.Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the city of Chicago is in mourning. On Saturday, Chicago police officer John Bartholomew was fatally shot after taking a robbery suspect to the hospital. Officer Bartholomew had been on the force for 10 years. In that decade, he became known by his station and his community as someone you could always count on. When it snowed, he was the first one outside to shovel. At the station, officers often heard him singing his lungs out in the locker room. Officer Bartholomew was a loving father, and a faithful husband to his wife Renee. Loretta and I offer our deepest condolences to the Bartholomew family. Officer Bartholomew's partner, a 21-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, remains in critical condition. We should all pray for his fast and full recovery.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last week, President Trump was asked to assess the state of the American economy. He said: Very happy. This is one of the rare moments where I can understand the President's thinking. In his eyes--and in the eyes of his billionaire friends--the economy has never been better. In the first year of his second term, President Trump added $1.4 billion to his personal wealth through cryptocurrency ventures and licensing deals with individuals tied to foreign governments. He has made more money in office than any other President in the history of the United States. And for his billionaire friends, the returns from the past year have been equally impressive. Elon Musk helped gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau right before it began to supervise his new digital payment platform. Oil billionaires like the Koch brothers have seen decades of climate regulation overturned after their multimillion-dollar donations to the 2024 Trump campaign. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, at least 88 of some of the largest corporations--including Tesla, Coinbase, and Palantir--made more than $105 billion in 2025. How much did they pay in Federal income tax? Nothing. Zero dollars because of the Republicans' ``One Big Beautiful Budget Bill.'' Collectively, billionaires added $1.5 trillion to their wealth in 2025 alone, a 22-percent increase in 1 year. They really would be happy. It is no wonder the President is so bullish about the economy when everyone he golfs with is raking in record profits. But if he asks any of the millions of working Americans what they think about the economy, I bet he will get a different answer. Most Americans don't feel like they are in the ``golden age of economic opportunity,'' in the words of the President. Instead, they feel like no matter how many hours they put in to provide for their family, the odds are stacked against them. Ask a young couple trying to buy their first home if they feel the President has delivered on a housing affordability agenda. Ask a small business owner struggling under the combined weight of Trump's tariff taxes and his cuts to healthcare if they feel like they are benefiting from this so-called pro-growth agenda. Ask anyone who isn't part of the wealthy elite that President Trump surrounds himself with, and they will tell you they feel abandoned by the President, who promised to lower prices for families ``on day one.'' His war with Iran, reckless tariffs against our trading partners, and cuts and chaos across the Federal Government have damaged the economy and pushed many families to the breaking point. In March, the Consumer Price Index--the leading measure of inflation--rose to 3.3 percent after the President's Iran war, which spiked oil prices and increased uncertainty for business owners. One in 10 people nationwide who were on the Affordable Care Act last year were forced to drop their health insurance altogether after the President and Republicans in Congress cut Medicaid and ACA by hundreds of billions of dollars. The price of groceries, childcare, rent, utility bills, and many other basic necessities keep going up, and the President and Republicans in Congress have not done nearly enough to help Americans make ends meet. What has the President proposed when 82 percent of Americans say housing affordability is a concern? He has proposed cuts--billions of dollars of cuts--in housing and homelessness assistance. What have Trump and congressional Republicans done for 6 in 10 Americans who are worried about being able to afford groceries? They enacted the largest SNAP cuts in history--the food program for those in low-income categories. When it comes to working families, the administration has little desire to help them. Instead, the President is distracted with election conspiracy theories and anti-immigrant hatred. When discussing legislation that would tackle rising housing costs, President Trump reportedly told Speaker Johnson that ``no one gives a [bleep] about housing'' and pushed Johnson to focus on disenfranchising voters. That is not to say Republicans in Congress are doing more than the President to address the cost of living. Sadly, they are equally distracted by President Trump's current and changing priorities. This week in the Senate, instead of voting on legislation to lower costs, Senate Republicans chose to focus their efforts on a party-line package, a package of legislation that would give ICE and CBP up to $140 billion to continue the administration's reckless, cruel, and deadly mass deportation campaign. They already provided a $170 billion slush fund for border and interior enforcement last June. They insist it is not nearly enough. Imagine the potential if they put their energy into making America more affordable instead of this agenda. The American people consistently say the economy is one of the most important issues our country faces. What does it say about Congress-- about our government--when we fail to pass any bill at all that meaningfully addresses these concerns? America has lost faith in a President who is more focused on his own bottom line than enriching his country and Republican leadership that would rather deport hard-working families than help them afford the basics. Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. They are responsible for the chaos we face, and Americans are increasingly wondering, What have Republicans done to help their families? My colleagues will need to find a better answer to that question than the current agenda of the Republican Congress or Americans will make their dissatisfaction known in November and usher in the beginning of the end of President Trump's last term in office. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Kaine), and the

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, that is exactly the point. I support the Graham amendment. The reason I do is that under current law, undocumented immigrants who are convicted of rape, murder, or the sexual abuse of a minor are subject to mandatory detention and deportation. What we object to is what is happening on the streets of Minneapolis and Chicago. Fewer than 14 percent of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE and the CBP had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses. I support the existing law. I support the Graham amendment. Vote on Amendment No. 5281

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) is necessarily absent.