Wyden upset Senate ‘waited until 11th hour to ram through renewal of warrantless surveillance,’ but ‘not giving up’

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement Saturday after voting No on a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for two years.  

“The Senate waited until the 11th hour to ram through renewal of warrantless surveillance in the dead of night. But I’m not giving up. The American people know that reform is possible and that they don’t need to sacrifice their liberty to have security. It is clear from the votes on very popular amendments that senators were unwilling to send this bill back to the House, no matter how common-sense the amendment before them. 

“Time after time, anti-reformers pledge that their band-aid changes to the law will curb abuses, and yet every time, the public learns about fresh abuses by officials who face little meaningful oversight. Those of us who believe liberty and security are not mutually exclusive have a lot of work to do.”