Congress moves to limit NSA data collection

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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The more spy agencies say they’re not listening to phone calls, the more we know they probably are.

Proposed bill would require some transparency

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Following a lively congressional hearing on the far-reaching surveillance and data-gathering of the U.S. intelligence apparatus, House lawmakers launched a bipartisan push to reign in the out-of-control spy agencies.

The proposed legislation  would restrict the federal government’s ability under the Patriot Act to collect information on Americans who are not connected to an ongoing investigation. The bill also requires that secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court to share its opinions with Congress and to provide summaries to the American public.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) joined Reps. Justin Amash (R-MI), Chairman of the House Liberty Caucus, and Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), the Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, today to announce the introduction of H.R. 2399, the Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act (LIBERT-E Act). (more…)

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U.S, security chief quizzed on warrantless surveillance

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

A Cold War listening station near Berlin.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The so-called war on terror has resulted in a fundamental change in U.S. policies on interrogations and surveillance, with most civil rights advocates claiming that the government has gone too far in the name of security.

Those excesses include 2008 provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that enable the government to conduct warrantless surveillance and searches of communications like emails and phone calls.

Because the operations conducted by the government under those provisions is shrouded in secrecy, nobody really knows how many communications have been intercepted and read. (more…)

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Udall highlights concerns about Pakistan and domestic abuse of intelligence laws during a pair of Senate hearings

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Sen. Mark Udall.

$31 billion in U.S. aid dollars lost to fraud and corruption; concerns remain that some of the money is funding terrorism

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Sen. Mark Udall continued to push on foreign policy issues during a Senate Armed Services Committee this week, pressing Pentagon leaders on issues related to military involvement in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Udall expressed concerns about providing military aid to Pakistan and questioned Pakistan’s commitment to shared security goals with the U.S. In a discussion with newly appointed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, Udall said Pakistan has often played both sides, and highlighted recent reports of blatant corruption and fraud in the country.

“At times it appears that Pakistan and its leadership are playing the roles of both arsonist and fireman, and that’s problematic,” Udall said. “Our mission in Afghanistan relies on the Pakistanis in many ways, but we cannot tolerate actions that jeopardize our efforts or place our personnel and the mission at risk.” (more…)

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Colorado: Udall seeks more transparency on spying laws

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Colorado Sen. Mark Udall.

Two senators ask for an unclassified explanation of the government’s geolocation collection authority and Details on FISA Amendments Act interpretations

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The U.S. Government should be more transparent about how it uses existing intelligence laws to spy on people, Sen. Mark Udall said in a recent letter to the James R. Clapper, Jr., director of national intelligence.

Along with Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden, Udall said the Senate should take a close look at how the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has been interpreted and implemented. The act was signed into law in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter. It was passed by Congress partly as the result of investigations into espionage abuses by the Nixon administration.

We believe that the debate over these initiatives will be better informed if Congress and the public are provided with more unclassified information about how these initiatives will affect current intelligence authorities and activities,” Wyden and Udall wrote in the letter.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden.

The two Democrats requested unclassified information that will be at issue as Congress debates the FISA Amendments Act, due for extension in 2012. They want more information on a 2007 statement by the Office of Management and Budget’s that it would “likely be impossible” to count the number of people whose communications were reviewed by government agents.

There have also been recurring violations of the FISA Amendments Act, and Wyden and Udall also want to determine whether or not the law has been used to collect communications of law abiding Americans. Wyden and Udall earlier this year called for the declassification of secret interpretations of the Patriot Act.

The Senators also asked for information on another increasingly talked-about area of surveillance law involving the use of geolocation data. Taking into account recent advances in geolocation technology, the increasing ease in secret tracking capabilities of individuals on an ongoing, 24/7 basis and law enforcement’s utilization of this technology, Wyden and Udall identified conflicting judicial rulings on the legality of the government surreptitiously tracking an individual’s movements using a mobile electronic device.   (more…)

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