House and Senate bills would give the...
House and Senate bills would give the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) the authority it needs to properly oversee the government’s surveillance programs, said lawmakers supporting the Strengthening Privacy, Oversight, and Transparency (SPOT) Act. The proposal would give…
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PCLOB the ability to issue subpoenas itself, instead of relying on the Justice Department, and it would make the board jobs full-time positions, said a Tuesday news release. “This bill gives the board the teeth it needs to fulfill its mandate,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who introduced the measure with Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. Under the bill, PCLOB’s jurisdiction would expand to include “all foreign intelligence activities,” said Udall, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, which funds PCLOB. Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., introduced the House version. “It makes little sense to charge [PCLOB] with independently monitoring the executive branch’s actions related to privacy concerns, but require the Attorney General’s approval before issuing subpoenas,” Gowdy said.