Maybe the Constitution shouldn’t be an after thought…
Via Politico:
Concern in Congress is mounting over broad surveillance by the Obama administration as new revelations surfaced that the National Security Administration is monitoring Internet usage.
Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee is shopping bills that would address some portions of the government monitoring, an aide said, particularly the NSA collection of Verizon phone records. His legislation would likely be similar to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act amendments that he pushed last year with fellow senators like Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The measures, both of which failed last December, would require the declassification of certain FISA court opinions and require reports on the impact of FISA surveillance on Americans. The Lee aide said that with government surveillance so prominent in the news, the legislation may find itself some new supporters.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he’s likely to support that legislation.
“We should have done this,” Durbin said of increasing oversight and transparency on government surveillance. “We may not have run into this surprise breaking story these past few days if we did.”Durbin voted against FISA reauthorization and has worked on transparency issues with Lee. In the past, he said, amendments to broaden oversight were “clearly an idea that didn’t sell.”