Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Security & Liberty
Wyden Places Hold on Effort to Extend FISA Amendments Act Authorities
Washington, D.C. - Inserting a statement in today's Congressional Record, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, announced that he will object to any request to pass the recently reported Intelligence Authorization bill by unanimous consent due to the legislation's inclusion of a three year extension of FISA Amendments Act (FAA) surveillance authorities. "As most of my colleagues remember, Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act in … Continue Reading
July 14, 2011
Wyden and Udall Call for Informed Debate of Domestic Surveillance Law
Washington, D.C. - Congress has until late 2012 to extend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008's expiring new authorities and U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Col.) say Congress should use the time to thoroughly consider how the law has been interpreted and implemented. In a letter to the Director of National Intelligence, Wyden and Udall -- both members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - state: "We believe that the debate over these initiatives will be better … Continue Reading
June 15, 2011
Wyden, Chaffetz Introduce GPS Act
Washington, D.C. - New technologies - like cell phones, smart phones, laptops and navigation devices - are making it increasingly easy to track and log the location of individual Americans, yet federal laws have not kept pace with the technology. The lack of legal clarity surrounding the use of electronically-obtained location data, also known as geolocation information, means that there are no clear rules for how this data can be used, accessed or sold by law enforcement, commercial entities … Continue Reading
May 25, 2011
Amendment Requires Government to End Practice of Secretly Interpreting Law
Washington, D.C. - As the Senate prepares to approve a four-year extension of the Patriot Act without public debate about how the executive branch actually interprets controversial provisions in the ten-year-old surveillance law, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Udall (D-Co.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced an amendment to the Patriot Act reauthorization legislation to require the U.S. Attorney General to make the U.S. Government's official interpretation of the … Continue Reading
May 24, 2011
TODAY: Wyden, Udall to Hold Press Conference Call on their Concerns about Reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act
Today, Tuesday, May 24, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (OR) and Mark Udall (CO) will hold a press conference call about the proposed reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act. The legislation would allow the government to continue using three controversial and wide-ranging provisions for four more years. The senators are concerned that the Senate is moving to reauthorize the legislation without debate, and that the administration has continued to refuse to declassify its legal interpretation of the … Continue Reading
May 02, 2011
Wyden Statement on Death of Osama bin Laden
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement on the death of Osama bin Laden: "Osama bin Laden was more than a killer, he was the founder and leader of a terrorist organization determined to make a name for itself by taking thousands of innocent lives and spreading chaos and fear around the globe. I congratulate the service members and intelligence professionals who made the operation … Continue Reading
April 05, 2011
Wyden Announces Intention to Block Intelligence Authorization Bill Over Controversial Pension-Forfeiture Provision
Washington, D.C. - In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) a senior member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence declared his intention to object to any attempt to pass the recently reported FY2011 Intelligence Authorization bill by unanimous consent. Wyden has been raising concerns about the inclusion of a controversial pension forfeiture provision, which would give the heads of intelligence agencies the authority to take away the … Continue Reading
February 22, 2011
Wyden Begins Effort to Amend PATRIOT Act
Washington, D.C. - As a three month extension of the USA PATRIOT Act makes its way to the President's desk, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said Congress must use the newly added time to hold the "debate it has spent ten years avoiding." "Americans deserve laws that strike the best possible balance between fighting terrorism ferociously and protecting the rights and freedoms of law-abiding American citizens," Wyden said. "The … Continue Reading
July 25, 2008
Wyden Seeks Declassification of FISA Court Opinions
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In an effort to better inform the ongoing congressional debate on intelligence surveillance law, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, sent the below letter today to the Public Interest Declassification Board. The letter asks the Board to review key opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and determine which portions of these opinions should be declassified and publicly released. "It is impossible … Continue Reading
July 14, 2008
Wyden Praises Department of Homeland Security for Protecting Delivery of Immigration Documents
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Senator Ron Wyden today praised the Department of Homeland Security for agreeing to change the method used to mail permanent residence cards in a move designed to prevent identity theft and reduce the number of lost or stolen cards."This is excellent news and I appreciate the attention to this important matter by Secretary Chertoff, the Department of Homeland Security and the Citizenship and Immigration Service," Wyden said. "This is a relatively simple change in … Continue Reading
June 24, 2008
Wyden to Oppose Cloture for Wiretapping Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, announced today that he would oppose new legislation amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) due to his continued opposition to a provision that would grant blanket retroactive immunity to any telecommunications company that participated in the President's warrantless wiretapping program. "This is not the first time that the President has pressured … Continue Reading
June 10, 2008
Wyden Seeks to Combat Immigration ID Theft with Change in Homeland Security Policy
WASHINGTON, DC - Responding to confirmed reports from constituents about lost or stolen identification documents, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff requesting a reexamination of the agency's procedures for mailing lawful permanent resident cards. Currently the Homeland Security Department sends these important federal documents via first class mail, instead of certified mail, leaving them vulnerable to theft or loss if sent to … Continue Reading
February 12, 2008
Senate Votes to Expand Privacy Rights To Americans Abroad
Washington, D.C. - In passing the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 (S.2248), the U.S. Senate today voted to approve one of the largest expansions of privacy rights in the last thirty years. S.2248 which makes a number of changes to U.S. surveillance law contains a provision originally written by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that will ensure that Americans who travel outside the United States possess the same privacy rights that they enjoy on U.S. soil. "In the digital age, an American's … Continue Reading
September 25, 2007
Administration Withdraws Nomination for CIA General Counsel
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today welcomed the administration's decision to withdraw the nomination of John Rizzo to be General Counsel of the CIA. "I opposed the nomination of John Rizzo to be the top lawyer at the CIA because he is the wrong man for the job," Wyden said. "I hope that the Administration's next nominee for the position demonstrates greater respect for the rule of law and a firmer … Continue Reading
July 27, 2007
9/11 Legislation Advances Transparency
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April 04, 2007
Wyden Amendment to Make CIA Inspector General Report Public
Washington, DC -- Believing that the American people have a right to know how the CIA performed prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today offered an amendment that would require the Director of the CIA to declassify the Executive Summary of the CIA Inspector General's report on 9/11. The CIA report is the only major 9/11 government review that has not been made public.Wyden's … Continue Reading
April 04, 2007
Intelligence Authorization Bill Clears Committee
Washington, D.C. - After two years of the Senate failing to pass an Intelligence Authorization bill, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today approved the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a senior member of the Committee, lauded the agreed-upon legislation as "vital to fortifying the U.S.'s intelligence capabilities." "Passage of this legislation is proof positive that Congress can improve accountability in the intelligence … Continue Reading
April 04, 2007
Senate Moves to Declassify CIA Report on 9/11
Washington, DC - U.S. Senate legislation to implement unfinished recommendations of the 9/11 commission includes a bipartisan amendment to declassify the Executive Summary of the CIA Inspector General's Report on 9/11. The CIA report is the only major 9/11 government review that has not been made public, a fact that the Vice Chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Kit Bond (R-MO) and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, have spent … Continue Reading
December 06, 2006
Wyden, Bond, Senators Ask for Review of Classified Information in Senate Intelligence Report, Say Documents Were Overclassified
Washington, DC - A bipartisan group of Senators who serve on the Senate Intelligence Committee today asked an independent board that oversees classification of information to review the documents to determine if in fact too much was kept secret in the recently released Senate Intelligence reports.in a letter to the head of the Public Interest Declassification Board, the Senators wrote, "The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on which we serve, recently released two reports addressing … Continue Reading
December 06, 2006
Wyden: Intelligence Reports Overclassified, Public Should Have Access to More
Washington, DC - Following the Senate Intelligence Committee's release of two of five planned reports on pre-war Iraq intelligence, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today criticized the excessive classification of the report and said he would urge an independent board that oversees classification of information to review the documents to determine if in fact too much was kept secret.Wyden, who serves on the Intelligence Committee, said he would ask the Public Interest Declassification Board to examine … Continue Reading
