Wyden vows to ‘do everything in my power’ to stop bill expanding warrantless government surveillance

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., vowed Friday to "do everything in my power" to stop House-passed legislation that would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and expand warrantless surveillance.

“The House bill represents one of the most dramatic and terrifying expansions of government surveillance authority in history,” Wyden said. “It allows the government to force any American who installs, maintains, or repairs anything that transmits or stores communications to spy on the government’s behalf.

"That means anyone with access to a server, a wire, a cable box, a Wi-Fi router, or a phone. It would be secret: the Americans receiving the government directives would be bound to silence, and there would be no court oversight. I will do everything in my power to stop this bill.”