Eric Burlison
Role at the time: U.S. representative from Missouri
Mixed or conditional
Statement summary
Burlison co-led a bill barring federal funding for license-plate readers, subject to specified exceptions.
“The federal government should not use taxpayer dollars to build a surveillance state that tracks law-abiding Americans.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Massie and Burlison introduce the Flock-Off ActBill announcement, funding scope, exceptions, and sponsor quotations
Bill announcement, funding scope, exceptions, and sponsor quotations
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Burlison said the federal government should not use taxpayer dollars to build a surveillance state, and co-led a bill barring federal funding for the readers with exceptions. A funding bar rather than a ban on every use fits Mixed or conditional.