Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., plans to co-sponsor the...
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., plans to co-sponsor the USA Freedom Act, S-1599. The House had passed a modified version earlier this year, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., had introduced the Senate version, expected to be considered soon.…
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“And while I support the current version of the bill, I want to be clear that I can and will vote against any bill that undercuts transparency, or that undercuts any of the other oversight and accountability provisions that are necessary for a successful surveillance reform effort,” Franken said in a statement Monday night, slamming the House version for having “gutted” most of the transparency requirements. The USA Freedom Act as originally introduced has transparency provisions modeled after Franken’s Surveillance Transparency Act, S-1621, introduced last year with Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., Franken’s office said in a news release. Currently 21 other senators co-sponsor the S-1599, 18 Democrats and three Republicans. On Tuesday, Franken and Heller sent a letter to the White House (http://1.usa.gov/VD8Je5) urging it to “support stronger transparency provisions such as those included in our bill."