BYRON CENTER, MI — U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, rattled off a list of Washington's issues before telling constituents he'd settle on the National Security Agency as the centerpiece of the evening.

The congressman was met with a warm welcome home on Wednesday, Nov. 6 during his first town hall meeting since the 16-day federal government shutdown last month, and the agenda was simple: A 10 minute D.C. update with almost an hour-long question and answer period with a packed house of constituents.

From the onset, Amash railed against the NSA and its secret surveillance programs for spying on individual American citizens. He, too, bashed classified court orders that bar telecommunication companies from disclosing requests for data it receives from the government.

Apple again put that issue in the spotlight Tuesday after it released its own transparency report.

"It's getting out of control," Amash said. "(Courts are issuing) general warrants without specific cause, ... and you have one agency that's essentially having superpowers to pass information onto others.

"You have to have probable cause, that's to protect innocent people."

Amash and a group of bipartisan legislators in response are pushing "The USA Freedom Act" to, essentially, place the agency in check and "fix" the 2001 Patriot Act, he said. There is a legitimate necessity to go after people wanting to harm the country but not at the expense of individual freedoms and liberties, Amash added.

If passed and signed by President Barack Obama as is, sponsors say it would end the NSA's reach to collect private citizens' phone records.

It also would shed light on the secret courts that leave Congress itself in the dark about what information it collects and who or what they're investigating, Amash said.

He previously pushed an amendment to a 2014 defense spending bill in July that would have effectively defunded the spying programs. It failed by a 217-205 vote, but Amash said there's been more traction with this newer effort.

The congressman argued the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, has been violated through a wrongful interpretation of the Patriot Act.

And although the taking physical copies of documents and belongings require a court-order, Amash said the government believes personal data stored in the cloud on the Internet is free for the taking.

"If we don't have this kind of freedom, we'll lose others," he'll said.

Many constituents appeared to agree with the notion, nodding their heads in approval, with one man asking the congressman what he himself could do to inform friends and family about the spying programs.

"The Freedom Act" was introduced just a week ago, comprised of at least 70 more cosponsors and supporters in the House, including Michigan's own House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, D-Detroit.

Byron Center resident Ida Pettibone said she appreciates Amash's candidness and explanation of the issue, hoping to learn more.

"I knew it was going on but didn't really know the extent," she said. "Our freedoms are being taken away, and he's doing something about it."

Andrew Krietz covers breaking and general police/fire news for MLive | The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at akrietz@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.