Murkowski Votes to End Overreaching NSA Surveillance Tactics

Press Release

Senator Lisa Murkowski today voted to consider the bipartisan USA Freedom Act that she co-sponsored to end bulk collection of phone records without probable cause and require greater oversight, transparency, and accountability with respect to domestic surveillance authorities. She shared her reasoning afterwards:

"The government's surveillance efforts need to be seriously rethought. While I understand the new reality we face against a complicated terrorist network, I believe American lives and our privacy rights can still be protected by implementing some important reforms.

"The general rule should not be for the government to track everyone we call on our home phones or cell phones; instead, we need a targeted approach that ensures we focus on those would cause us harm. That is why I co-sponsored the bipartisan USA Freedom Act -- which halts the bulk surveillance of phone records that was ruled illegal by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals two weeks ago -- and why I have backed similar efforts to improve this process for the last ten years."

The USA Freedom Act, which passed the House of Representatives 338-88, did not pass in the Senate, falling short of a 60 vote threshold. For the past decade, Senator Murkowski has actively pursued efforts to reconsider federal surveillance policies and address concerns about the potential infringement of civil liberties.

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