Central New York Congressmember John Katko is optimistic that the Senate will ultimately approve legislation that restores surveillance authority of domestic phone records. The provision of the USA Patriot Actexpired Monday after Senator Rand Paul blocked an extension. Katko says the USA Freedom Act already approved by the house is basically a renewal, but includes safeguards to prevent abuses of the data collected.
“It’s a really good bill and it addresses the vast majority of concerns of our Country. And to play politics with that I think, at a time where we have a heightened security risk in this country, is just not a good idea.”
Katko feels the Freedom Act strikes the right balance between protecting the nation’s security interests and not compromising privacy. He thinks the Senate will come to its senses and vote on the measure before sending it back to the house. Meanwhile, he says there’s a security gap that puts the country more at risk.
“You have to strike the right balance, there’s no question about it, between keeping the country safe and abrogating the rights of citizens. And I think that the new bill, the Freedom Act went a long way towards doing that and I’m just concerned that some people may play politics and I’ve spoken that they shouldn’t be playing politics.”
Katko says the freedom act addresses the concerns most Americans have about invasion of privacy. He believes the pause in data collection will only be temporary.
But some disagree with Katko about just how valuable the domestic telephone records are in tracking suspected terrorist activity. The NSA itself has said they’re not very helpful. The expiration of the provision doesn’t apply to overseas surveillance, which is considered far more successful.
