July 24, 2013

Wyden Statement on Amash/Conyers Amendment to End Dragnet Collection of Americans’ Records

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding the amendment to the House Defense Appropriations bill offered by Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and John Conyers (D- Mich.) that would have ended the NSA’s dragnet collection of Americans’ records:

“Today the debate on warrantless surveillance of ordinary Americans finally took place where it should have been occurring all along: in public and on the floor of the Congress, rather than another closed hearing or backroom meeting.  And over 200 members of Congress said that it is time to rein in domestic surveillance activities that have gotten out of control.
 
Those of us who support reform know that it is possible to protect both American security and American liberty, as long as policymakers make protecting both a priority.  Our law enforcement and intelligence agencies can pursue terrorists aggressively without conducting dragnet surveillance of huge numbers of law-abiding Americans.  And today’s vote shows that the reformers who are championing this viewpoint are continuing to gain momentum in the House and Senate.  
 
I would like to congratulate Congressman Amash and Congressman Conyers for their hard work on this amendment.  I am confident that they will continue to advance the cause of surveillance reform in the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to keep advancing it in the Senate.”