When Congress passed the renewal of the Patriot Act in 2011, Senator Bernie Sanders opposed the measure because he felt the law gave the federal government too much authority to monitor private phone records.
Sanders says his fears came true this week when it was revealed that, over the past six years, the Obama Administration has secretly obtained the phone and Internet records of millions of people in the U.S.
The Administration said the activity was legal and several senators on the Intelligence committee have defended the practice on the grounds that the information has helped stop a number of terrorist attacks.
Sanders thinks those terrorist activities could have been prevented using less intrusive techniques.
We have given the government too much power to collect data on the average American - Senator Bernie Sanders
“I happen to believe that we have the resources to combat terrorism in a way that maintains and upholds the Constitutional rights of the American people,” said Sanders. “And I think that what we have seen revelations that we have seen in the past few days are very, very alarming. We have given the government too much power to collect data on the average American.”
Sanders wants to amend the Patriot Act to require the government to prove that it has probable cause before gathering information on any specific individual.
“So that the government has got to go to an independent body, a judge, and say we have reason to believe that this person is involved in terrorist activity then I want the government to be able to go after that person,” said Sanders. “But I do not want to see records of hundreds of millions of Americans assembled by the United States Government. I just think that’s not the right thing.”
And Sanders says he’s dismayed that President Obama has expanded a surveillance program that was started by former President George W. Bush.
“Am I deeply disappointed that Barack Obama, who among other things taught and studied Constitutional law, believes he has the authority or that it makes good public policy to do this? Am I disappointed? Absolutely.”
Sanders says he hopes to put together a bi-partisan coalition of senators to support his amendment to the Patriot Act.
