REP ANDREWS EXPRESSES OUTRAGE AT NSA DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM

I am outraged to learn that the NSA, with the complicity of the major telephone carriers in the United States, has been routinely collecting phone records for the domestic calls of tens of millions of American citizens.  As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I fully understand that accurate intelligence is vital to winning the war against global terror, but intelligence must be obtained in a manner consistent with our Constitution, laws, and values.

This new domestic spying program may violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.  It is also, however, a clear and unjustifiable breach of the public's trust in their government at a time when public distrust is already high.  We do not know the full extent of this or other domestic surveillance programs, and we do not have enough information to determine their constitutionality.  This is particularly because this Congress and this Administration refuses to hold any sort of substantive investigation.

I am not willing to take the President at his word that these programs are constitutional and only target terrorists.  That’s why I have called on Congress to hold hearings into these allegations. Neither I, nor any other Member of Congress, should stand by and allow this Administration to threaten the Constitutional rights of our citizens.

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