National Security Administration surveillance programs recently revealed by the media are "troubling" and "unacceptable" and deserve a thorough investigation to determine whether they were an abuse of government power, members of Hawaii’s all-Democratic congressional delegation said Monday.
Classified documents published by two newspapers outlined the NSA programs authorized under provisions of the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act. One program gathers hundreds of millions of U.S. cellphone records; the other collected Internet usage data on foreign users from nine U.S. tech companies.
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, the only member of the delegation serving since 2007, when the programs reportedly were authorized by Congress, has consistently voted against such legislation and pledged to work with colleagues to determine any risks placed on citizens’ privacy.
"While facts are still emerging, the reports of the federal government collecting massive amounts of information on American citizens are very troubling," Hirono, who served in the House from 2006 until winning election to the Senate this year, said in a statement. "I have serious concerns about the scope and sweep of these data collection programs."
Members declined requests for telephone interviews but issued written statements through their offices.
U.S. SEN. BRIAN Schatz, in his first vote after becoming senator in December, opposed amendments to the FISA measure "because it failed to provide transparency, accountability and reasonable limits when the federal government conducts surveillance for intelligence purposes," he said.
"While I recognize that the FISA Amendments Act has helped to produce useful intelligence, I am concerned about the impact that this law has on the privacy of Americans," he said.
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who voted for the FISA amendment, said it must be determined quickly whether the government went too far in collecting phone and Internet records.
"If it is discovered that these surveillance programs represent an abuse of government power, then corrective action needs to be taken immediately," she said.
"We expect the government to honor our privacy. We cannot forget the constitutional rights that generations have fought to preserve."
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard called it "absolutely unacceptable for our government to spy on millions of innocent Americans and indiscriminately obtain all of their cellphone records."
Gabbard, who joined the delegation just this year, was the only one to comment on the declared source of the leak: Edward Snowden, a government contract worker with the NSA who gathered some of the information at his workplace in Hawaii before going to Hong Kong.
"The news of this whistle-blower should in no way divert attention from the considerable government overreach that has been uncovered," Gabbard said. "We, as a nation, need to have a vigorous debate and review of the Patriot Act, its constitutionality and its impact on our civil liberties."
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Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly said U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa voted against the FISA amendment. Hanabusa voted for it.
