The FOP strongly opposes H.R. 4639, the “Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act,” which may be considered in the U.S. House of Representatives as early as today, 17 April. The FOP does not support any of the amendments that will be offered, and we will oppose the underlying bill regardless of the final disposition of the amendments.
As introduced, the legislation would destroy the basic ability of law enforcement to conduct investigations into violent crimes like murder, kidnapping, terrorism, and other serious threats. The bill does this by prohibiting law enforcement from accessing commercially-available information about customers or subscribers from third-party providers—data which is widely available for non-public safety purposes.
Access to this data is critical because it allows law enforcement to identify and pursue leads—to “connect the dots” as they investigate serious crimes. These leads are used to gather evidence and establish probable cause for an arrest and prosecution. By prohibiting access to this commercially available data, Congress would be tying the hands of law enforcement and greatly increasing the time it takes to conduct successful investigations into serious crimes.
The Administration issued a policy statement opposing the legislation yesterday and the Wall Street Journal announced their opposition, citing a letter of opposition from the National FOP.
Please contact your Representative directly or through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell them to vote against this anti-police bill!
