Sens. Mark Udall (D-CO) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) plan to introduce a bill next week that would curtail the National Security Agency’s authority to collect Americans’ phone data, Udall told the Denver Post Thursday.
The proposed bill would put the burden of proving that a link exists between a person and a terror or espionage threat on the executive branch when it approaches the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to collect that person’s phone records.
“The NSA’s collection of millions of Americans’ phone call records is the type of overreach I have warned about for years,” Udall told the Post. “This legislation strikes the right balance in protecting our homeland while also respecting our Constitution.”
Udall and Wyden, who had prior knowledge of the NSA programs due to their position on the Senate Intelligence Committee, have been outspoken critics of the surveillance program since they were revealed in news reports last week.
