Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Secret Law
Wyden Statement of Support for the USA FREEDOM Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) - a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a leader of the surveillance reform movement -- issued the following statement in support of the USA FREEDOM Act introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). "Today, I am proud to add Chairman Leahy as a co-sponsor of our Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform Act. Our bipartisan legislation sets the bar for real, meaningful reforms to … Continue Reading
October 31, 2013
Wyden Statement on Vote in Opposition to Intelligence Committee’s FISA Legislation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement on legislation reported today by the Intelligence Committee. "More and more Americans are saying that they refuse to give up their constitutionally guaranteed liberties for the appearance of security: the Intelligence committee has passed a bill that ignores this message. It maintains business as usual instead of ending the bulk collection of … Continue Reading
September 26, 2013
Wyden Continues to Press Intelligence Officials on Needed Domestic Surveillance Reforms
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today pressed top intelligence officials on the problems of building "an intelligence collection system that repeatedly deceived the American people" during an open hearing held by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Yesterday, Wyden, along with U.S. Senators Mark Udall, D-Colo., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to reform domestic surveillance laws and the secret surveillance court. … Continue Reading
September 25, 2013
Surveillance Reform Package Ends Bulk Collection of Phone Records; Creates Constitutional Advocate for Secret Court
Washington, D.C. - In order to restore the constitutional liberties that have been eroded by invasive surveillance and end secret interpretations of the law that vastly exceed the intent of Congress, a bipartisan group of lawmakers including Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have introduced legislation to reform domestic surveillance laws and the secret surveillance court. The Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform … Continue Reading
September 24, 2013
ADVISORY: Wyden, Udall, Paul, Blumenthal to Unveil Principles for Comprehensive Surveillance Reform
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), will hold a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 4 pm EDT to unveil principles for comprehensive surveillance reform. Their approach will end the bulk collection of phone records of law-abiding Americans, close the "back-door searches" loophole that allows the government to search for Americans' communications without a warrant, and create an independent … Continue Reading
September 16, 2013
Wyden, Udall Statement on Intelligence Officials Lack of Understanding of Bulk Collection Program
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) issued the following statement regarding the 2009 admission by intelligence officials that they did not fully understand the entirety of the bulk phone records collection program. Wyden and Udall are both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Documents declassified last week clearly show that court orders authorizing the NSA's bulk collection of phone records were consistently violated by the NSA. These … Continue Reading
September 10, 2013
Wyden and Udall Statement on the Declassification of FISA Court Opinions on Bulk Collection of Phone Data
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) issued the following statement after the declassification -- as a result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union -- of more than 1800 pages of previously secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions and other documents on the government's bulk collection of Americans' phone records. "When the executive branch acknowledged … Continue Reading
August 09, 2013
Wyden Statement on President Obama’s Proposed Reforms to the FISC and PATRIOT ACT
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding President Obama's announcement of potential reforms to Section 215 of the PATRIOT ACT and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. "Many of the reforms proposed by the President stem from suggestions made by myself and my colleagues to deal with the severe threat to civil liberties posed by current surveillance authorities and programs. While more details are clearly necessary, the President's … Continue Reading
August 01, 2013
Blumenthal, Wyden, Udall Unveil Major Legislation To Reform FISA Courts
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) - joined by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) - unveiled two bills that would ensure FISA courts properly balance the need to protect national security with constitutional and statutory requirements to safeguard individual rights to privacy and liberty. The first bill - the FISA Court Reform Act of 2013 - would create a Special Advocate with the power to argue in the FISA courts on behalf of the right to privacy … Continue Reading
July 31, 2013
Wyden: Declassified Documents Show How Inaccurate Statements Have Misled Congress
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding the declassified documents released by the Director of National Intelligence today: "The newly declassified briefing documents released today show that the executive branch repeatedly made inaccurate statements to Congress about the value and effectiveness of the bulk email records collection program that was carried out under the USA PATRIOT Act until 2011. These statements had the effect of … Continue Reading
July 29, 2013
Wyden Statement on Voting Present on the Nomination of James Comey to be FBI Director
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding his decision to vote "present" on the confirmation of James Comey to be the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation: "Today, I voted present on the nomination of James Comey to be the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The head of the FBI is responsible for approving and overseeing a large number of surveillance activities, and it is an unfortunate fact that the FBI's … Continue Reading
July 26, 2013
Wyden and Udall: Intelligence Community's Response Leaves Important Surveillance Questions Unanswered
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mark Udall, D-Colo., released the following statement after receiving a response from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to their June 27, 2013 letter sent along with 24 fellow senators: "This response is appreciated, but the intelligence community still has left many of the questions most important to the American people unanswered. Given the implications for the privacy of the millions of law-abiding Americans, intelligence … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
July 02, 2013
Wyden, Udall Statement on the Disclosure of Bulk Email Records Collection Program
Washington, D.C. - U. S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.), both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released the following statement regarding the recent disclosure by intelligence officials that the NSA operated a bulk email records collection program under the authority of the Patriot Act until 2011. This program is distinct from the internet-related collection carried out under section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act (which involves the PRISM computer … Continue Reading
June 28, 2013
Bipartisan Group of 26 Senators Seek Answers from DNI Clapper on Bulk Data Collection Program
Washington, D.C. - The recent public disclosures of secret government surveillance programs have exposed how secret interpretations of the USA PATRIOT Act have allowed for the bulk collection of massive amounts of data on the communications of ordinary Americans with no connection to wrong-doing. Reliance on secret law to conduct domestic surveillance activities raises serious civil liberty concerns and all but removes the public from an informed national security and civil liberty debate. In … Continue Reading
June 19, 2013
Wyden, Udall Issue Statement on Effectiveness of Declassified NSA Programs
Washington, D.C. - U. S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) issued the following statement responding to comments made by members of the Intelligence Community about the value of certain NSA surveillance programs. Both Senators sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Over the past few days the Intelligence Community has made new assertions about the value of recently declassified NSA surveillance programs. In addition to the concerns that we have about the impact of … Continue Reading
June 18, 2013
Support Builds for Udall, Wyden Proposal to Limit the Federal Government's Ability to Collect Vast Amounts of Data on Americans
Senators Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, who serve on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the bipartisan group of senators who joined their effort today to limit the federal government's ability to collect data on Americans without links to terrorism or espionage is a sign of the growing support to reopen the USA PATRIOT Act. Udall and Wyden introduced their proposal today to ensure that the federal government can protect national security as well as the privacy rights of millions … Continue Reading
June 14, 2013
Udall, Wyden Propose Limiting the Federal Government's Ability to Collect Vast Amounts of Data on Americans
Senators Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, who both serve on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, will introduce legislation that would limit the federal government's ability to collect data on Americans' without a demonstrated link to terrorism or espionage. Their legislation follows reports that the federal government has used a "secret interpretation" of the PATRIOT Act, renewed in 2011, to continuously collect data on Americans. "The NSA's collection of millions of Americans' phone … Continue Reading
June 13, 2013
Udall, Wyden Call On National Security Agency Director to Clarify Comments on Effectiveness of Phone Data Collection Program
Senators Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, who serve on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, called on Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, to clarify his statements that the surveillance programs disclosed through leaks over the past week have helped avert "dozens of terrorist attacks" in recent years. Alexander testified yesterday that the collection of millions of Americans' phone records was "critical in corroborating" information … Continue Reading
June 11, 2013
Wyden Statement Responding to Director Clapper’s Statements About Collection on Americans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding statements made by the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about collection on Americans. Wyden is a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "One of the most important responsibilities a Senator has is oversight of the intelligence community. This job cannot be done responsibly if Senators aren't getting straight answers to direct questions. When NSA Director Alexander failed … Continue Reading
