WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the United States Senate considers the future of expiring amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released the following statement supporting a compromise to reform the government’s bulk call detail records program while ensuring the Intelligence Community has access to the tools it needs to fight terrorism:

“Over the last two years, I have studied this matter closely as a member of the Intelligence Committee, and I am convinced the bulk call detail records program should be reformed and that we should transition to a new system under which the private sector maintains the records instead of the government. 

“However, representatives of the telecommunications industry have told me they will not commit to voluntarily retaining the records for any particular period of time if not required by the law. Unfortunately, as currently drafted, the USA FREEDOM Act fails to ensure that the companies will actually maintain the records.

“In response, I have proposed a compromise that would require companies to notify the government if they change their retention policies. Additionally, my proposal authorizes the FBI to seek an order to retain such records if a judge determines doing so is necessary for the purposes of an investigation.

“Balancing two countervailing Constitutional principles – our right to privacy and the necessity of a common defense – is the solemn responsibility of the government. The American people deserve a response from its government that meets both of those charges.”

Senator King’s compromise solution would require telecommunications providers to notify the Attorney General if they intend to change their policies on the retention of call detail records. It also authorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to order the providers to retain call detail records if the Court determines the failure to retain such records is resulting in, or is reasonably likely to result in, the loss of foreign intelligence information relevant to an investigation.

Senator King has long called for a transition of the program from government control to the private sector. In November 2014, he voted for a procedural motion on a previous version of the USA Freedom Act under the premise that the Senate would have the opportunity to consider amendments to the bill well in advance of the June 1, 2015 deadline. Today, Senator King opposed a similar procedural motion because there was no process in place to amend the legislation. He also opposed a two-month extension of the current program in order to support a short-term extension proposed by the Senate leadership to ensure Congress would act quickly to consider his reform proposal and other substantive alternatives. However, after the two month-extension failed, the subsequent request to pass the short-term extension was objected to by a small group of senators. The Senate is now scheduled to consider the program again on May 31^st.

###