Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 115) to require the Department of State to establish a policy regarding the use of location-tracking consumer devices by employees at diplomatic and consular facilities, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 115, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, before I talk about the bill, I want to very briefly acknowledge the fact that this is the first debate we have had with bills in the Foreign Affairs Committee since the new Congress. I want to welcome Mr. McCaul to the very important position--which I had for the past 6 years--of ranking member. And I know that, as chairman, the Foreign Affairs Committee for the past 6 years has had a record of being the most bipartisan committee in the Congress. I hope and I know that that will continue with this Congress, and that the respect that all Members have shown each other will continue the tradition of the Foreign Affairs Committee. I look forward to working with Mr. McCaul in that regard.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 115, the Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act. I thank Mr. Castro for introducing this legislation.

Before I get into the merits of this particular bill, which is designed to protect diplomats from cyber snooping, I would be remiss if I failed to express my deep concern that thousands of Department of State employees and diplomats are furloughed without pay.

I am hearing stories of State Department officials struggling to make ends meet, taking up side jobs and having garage sales to stay afloat. By keeping America's diplomats away from their jobs, we are harming our national security. We need to end this shutdown, and we need to end it now.

Now, I will turn to the excellent bill before us today. This measure aims to ensure the Department of State has policies in place to help prevent our adversaries from tracking the locations

of our foreign service officers through their electronic devices.

From Fitbits and smartwatches to phones and cars, most of us have at least one tracking device with us at all times. Many of us would literally be lost without these devices, but they pose security risks as well.

This commonsense measure would make sure the Secretary of State has a policy in place on using location tracking consumer devices at our diplomatic and consular facilities around the world.

This is a good bill that passed the House unanimously in the last Congress, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage again today.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me say that the Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act is a commonsense way to improve the safety of U.S. personnel overseas.

I urge my colleagues to support the measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 115 the ``Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act,'' which directs the State Department to establish a policy on location-tracking consumer devices at U.S. diplomatic and consular facilities around the world and requires employees to be briefed on the policies and procedures during routine security briefings.

H.R. 115 also requires the Secretary of State to coordinate with heads of any other agencies whose employees are deployed to or stationed at U.S. facilities in formulating this policy.

I support this legislation because, among other things, with the enactment of this act, the Secretary of State shall establish a policy on the use of location-tracking devices, including GPS-enabled devices, at United States facilities, both at home and abroad.

This act clarifies that U.S. employees will be kept updated and notified about the use of location-tracking consumer devices both on and off the premises of U.S. diplomatic and consular facilities.

The State Department is the critical go between when dealing with international affairs and foreign policy issues, and this act will expand their duties by protecting the privacy rights of Diplomats and resident employees in this new age of technology.

Location-tracking information can be stored within a device or transmitted to an outside server, both storing the data, and giving real time location of said device.

Mr. Speaker, in this day and age, most smart phone users have location-tracking apps open on their device at all times; an estimated 90 percent of smart phone owners in 2015 use location-based services, and have them on a all times.

For example, weather apps, which an estimated 65 percent of adults share their location with and check daily, require the users' location to provide accurate weather information.

For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 115 and upholding the importance of the privacy of our employees in consular and diplomatic facilities, and ensuring that all persons involved are aware and educated about the upholding policies.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Let me first congratulate Mr. Engel on his ascension to the chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Committee. I can't think of a better chairman to work with than Mr. Engel, who is always bipartisan, always says that partisanship stops at the water's edge. And I know, being a national security committee, that we will conduct ourselves with dignity and respect for each other. We may disagree from time to time, but we will always respect each other. I look forward to working with him in this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bill I sponsored with Mr. Castro of Texas, the Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act.

Last year, a report revealed the risk of using wearable technologies such as Fitbits and Apple watches which use GPS tracking. As the report stated, researchers were able to track the movements of deployed troops in overseas locations. This obviously poses an enormous security risk for our soldiers overseas. Enemies could track patrol routes or discover the location of secret foreign installments.

This exposure puts our diplomats at risk as well. We have men and women engaging in diplomatic efforts all over the world, often in sensitive and high-risk areas. We must not make it easier for our enemies to track their movements.

As such, our bill requires the Department of State to establish a policy on the use of location tracking consumer devices by diplomats at U.S. facilities around the world. We introduced this bill last year, and it passed in a large bipartisan fashion.

I want to thank Mr. Castro for his leadership, as well as Chairman Engel for his work on this important legislation. I urge my colleagues to support.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I think protecting our diplomats and ensuring sensitive and classified areas is really critical to our national security. This bill does that.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for Chairman Engel's leadership on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

I look forward to continue working with Chairman Engel to advance U.S. foreign policy and national security this Congress.

I'd also like to thank my colleague from Texas, Ranking Member Michael McCaul, for authoring this measure with me.

Mr. Speaker, U.S. Foreign Service Offices voluntarily serve in some of the most dangerous pockets of the world to advance U.S. national interests and security abroad.

Changing technologies force us to adapt our security practices to ensure our diplomats' safety.

This includes threats posed by location-tracking consumer devices that reveal physical locations and movements.

I was glad to reintroduce the Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act last week with Ranking Member McCaul.

This legislation requires the State Department to account for location-tracking consumer devices in broader U.S. embassy and consulate security policies.

As lawmakers, we have a moral obligation to ensure our men and women in the line of duty have the protections they deserve.

This legislation does just that.

Protecting our nation's frontline civilians is not a partisan issue, it's an American issue.

We must ensure our security policies and practices nimbly adapt to evolving technologies and tactics used by our enemies.

That's why I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this measure.