Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., now co-sponsors the USA Freedom Act, written by Senate JudiciaryrnCommittee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and House Judiciary Crime and Terrorism SubcommitteernChairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and introduced in late October. HR-3361 and S-1599 has morernthan 100 co-sponsors in the House and Senate and would end the government’s bulk collection of phonernmetadata under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Wyden in September introduced a similar bill with Sens.rnRand Paul, R-Ky., Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Udall and Blumenthal previouslyrncame out as co-sponsors of the USA Freedom Act, but Wyden was silent. “As written this bill willrnalso make these vital reforms, and now that the Senate Intelligence Committee has decided to preservernsurveillance business-as-usual, Chairman Leahy’s legislation is now our best hope for reform in this Congress,”rnsaid Wyden in a written statement Tuesday. “I urge everyone who has supported Senators Udall,rnPaul, Blumenthal and myself in our efforts to lend their support to Chairman Leahy as he works to advancernthe USA FREEDOM Act.” Wyden said Leahy is also now a co-sponsor of Wyden’s IntelligencernOversight and Surveillance Reform Act, which he reiterated “sets the bar for real, meaningful reforms to surveillance law.” Wyden also wants to keep working with Paul to “ensure that law-abiding Americansrnwho have been harmed by intrusive government surveillance programs have an opportunity to challengernthe constitutionality of these programs in court,” he said. Changes to surveillance law will require bipartisanrnsupport and should take advantage of every stage of “procedural opportunity" to move forward, Wydenrntold reporters at the Capitol Tuesday. He said this focus is taking place in Congress now. Wyden describedrn“the tech community really rallying” behind the push for surveillance law updates, an outspokennessrnthat Wyden judged unusual compared to times past. Wyden, a Senate Intelligence Committee member,rnfought unsuccessfully to integrate changes into a legislative proposal that cleared Senate Intelligencernlast week (CD Nov 4 p10). Observers have said the proposals of Wyden and Senate Judiciary CommitteernChairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., are at odds with that Senate Intelligence bill, called the FISA ImprovementsrnAct, and "far from anything that could be considered meaningful reform," Wyden said after itsrncommittee clearance. — JH
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