On the recordMay 21, 2015
I rise today to speak in support of the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015. I am a proud cosponsor of this bicameral, bipartisan bill which brings much-needed reform to the Federal Government's surveillance programs, including an end to the bulk data collection program that the intelligence community has said is not necessary, that the public has said they don't support, and that the Second Circuit has ruled as unlawful. I am particularly proud to have developed the bill's transparency provisions with my friend Senator Dean Heller of Nevada. We are greatly indebted to Senator Lee and to Senator Leahy for their leadership and their tireless work. Americans understand, as I do, that our job here is to strike an appropriate balance, making sure, on the one hand, that we are safeguarding our national security, without trampling on our citizens' fundamental privacy rights, on the other hand. But the public cannot know if we succeed in striking that balance if they do not even have the most basic information about our major surveillance programs. That is why my focus has been on transparency, because I want to make sure that the American people are able to decide for themselves whether we are getting this right. I support the USA FREEDOM Act because it moves us in the right direction on all of these fronts. On June 1, several national security authorities will expire.…
