Wyden cheers end to NSA phone records ‘dragnet’
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sunday night praised the end to the bulk collection of Americans’ information under the Patriot Act, and called for the Senate to pass the USA Freedom Act to enact additional reforms.
“Tonight, the collection of phone records of millions of innocent Americans will end,” Wyden said. “The demise of this dragnet surveillance is a victory for the principle that Americans do not need to sacrifice liberty to have security. I have worked for this moment since I first learned about this flawed and illegal program almost a decade ago. “
“Congress now has the opportunity to build on this victory by making meaningful and lasting reforms to U.S. surveillance laws,” the senator continued.
“After Republican leaders stalled for months in a failed attempt to rerun their old playbook for extending mass surveillance, they now have no excuse for not allowing a full debate on the USA Freedom Act as soon as possible,” Wyden said.
“In my view, this is the best way to bring new transparency and reforms to U.S. surveillance programs and to bring certainty to our intelligence agencies.”
Wyden has led the congressional fight against the secret collection of Americans’ phone and email records for nearly a decade, the senator’s office said in its news release.
