Honorable Patrick Leahy
United States Senator, Vermont, Democrat
Senator Leahy was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974. He is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The following is excerpted from a July 31, 2013, statement during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Strengthening Privacy Rights and National Security: Oversight of FISA Surveillance Programs.” Today, the Judiciary Committee will scrutinize government surveillance programs conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. In the years since September 11, Congress has repeatedly expanded the scope of FISA, and given the government sweeping new powers to collect information on law-abiding Americans — and we must carefully consider now…
