Senate Intelligence Committee leaders Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) released a joint statement Tuesday condemning an amendment to Rep. Justin Amash’s (R-MI) House appropriations bill that would gut National Security Agency surveillance programs.
“Since the public disclosure of the business records program, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has explored how the program can be modified to add extra privacy protections without sacrificing its effectiveness,” the statement read. “We believe this debate in the Congressional Intelligence and Judiciary committees should continue and that any amendments to defund the program on appropriations bills would be unwise.”
Senate Intelligence Committee member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) spoke out against those programs in a speech Tuesday at the Center for American Progress in Washington, stressing the importance of reforming surveillance law to protect Americans’ privacy.
