The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court has appointed two new judges to the eleven-member Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a spokesman for the Court said today.
Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the D.C. District Court and Judge Susan Webber Wright of the Eastern District of Arkansas were each appointed to seven-year terms on the Court, expiring May 18, 2016, said spokesman Sheldon Snook.
They replace Judge Robert C. Broomfield and Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, whose terms on the FIS Court expired today. Judge John D. Bates, who was appointed to the Court in 2006, takes over from Judge Kollar-Kotelly as Presiding Judge of the Court.
The FIS Court reviews government applications for electronic surveillance and physical search of suspected foreign intelligence and terrorist targets under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The current membership of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court may be found here.
The public rarely sees the quiet, often messy work that goes into creating, passing, and implementing a major piece of legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act.
If this proposed rule were enacted it would have deleterious effects on government workers in general and federal researchers and scientists, specifically.
When we introduce “at-will” employment to government employees, we also introduce the potential for environments where people are more concerned about self-preservation than service to others.
There is no better time to re-invigorate America’s innovation edge by investing in R&D to create and capture “industries of the future,” re-shoring capital and expertise, and working closely with allies to expand our capabilities while safeguarding those technologies that are critical to our security.