Tag Archives: Senate

Push to expand FBI surveillance authority threatens email privacy bill

A lock icon, signifying an encrypted Internet

By Dustin Volz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An effort in the U.S. Senate to expand the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s authority to use a secretive surveillance order has delayed a vote on a popular email privacy bill, casting further doubt on whether the legislation will become law this year.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday postponed consideration of a measure that would require government authorities to obtain a search warrant before asking technology companies, such as Microsoft and Alphabet Inc’s Google , to hand over old emails. A version of the Senate bill unanimously passed the House last month.

Currently, federal agencies do not need a warrant to access emails or other digital communications more than 180 days old due to a provision in a 1986 law that considers them abandoned by the owner.

But Republican party senators offered amendments Thursday that privacy advocates argued contravened the purpose of the underlying bill and would likely sink its chances of becoming law.

Those amendments include one by Senator John Cornyn, the second ranking Republican in the Senate, that would broaden the FBI’s authority to deploy an administrative subpoena known as a National Security Letter to include electronic communications transaction records such as the times tamps of emails and their senders and recipients.

Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Lee, the Democratic and Republican authors of the email privacy bill, agreed to postpone the vote to give time to lawmakers to review the amendments and other provisions of the bill that have prompted disagreement.

NSLs do not require a warrant and are almost always accompanied by a gag order preventing the service provider from sharing the request with a targeted user.

The letters have existed since the 1970s, though the scope and frequency of their use expanded greatly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

In 2015 requests for customer records via NSLs increased nearly 50 percent to 48,642 requests, up from 33,024 in 2014, according to a U.S. government transparency report.

The Obama administration has for years lobbied for a change to how NSLs can be used, after a 2008 legal memo from the Justice Department said the law limits them largely to phone billing records. FBI Director James Comey has said the change needed essentially corrects a typo.

The Senate Intelligence Committee this week passed a bill to fund the U.S. intelligence community that contains a similar provision that would allow NSLs to be used to gather email records.

Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, voted against the proposal and said it “takes a hatchet to important protections for Americans’ liberty.”

(Reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Alan Crosby)

Many Senate Democrats frustrated with slow U.S. Syrian refugee admissions

Syrian refugee children play as they wait with their families to register their information at the U.S. processing centre for Syrian refugees, during a media tour held by the U.S. Embassy in Jordan,

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than half the Democrats in the Senate, including many of President Barack Obama’s strongest supporters, signed a letter to him on Wednesday urging him to move more quickly to admit Syrian refugees into the United States.

Despite Obama’s pledge to admit 10,000 of the people fleeing Syria’s civil war in the year ending this September, only 1,736 have been allowed into the country so far. In contrast, more than 6,000 have been admitted from Myanmar and more than 5,000 have been admitted from Iraq.

“We urge your Administration to devote the necessary resources to expeditiously and safely resettle refugees from Syria,” the 27 senators wrote in the letter, which was seen by Reuters.

“We are deeply concerned about the slow pace of admissions for Syrian refugees in the first seven months of the fiscal year,” the letter said.

The lead signers on the letter included Senator Richard Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate, and Senator Amy Klobuchar. The letter was signed by 25 other members of the Democratic caucus, including presidential candidate Bernie Sanders

It requested an update on specific measures the administration plans to take to fulfill its commitment to resettle the remaining 8,264 Syrians within five months.

Obama said in late April that he expected the United States to meet his goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees before Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year.

But Obama’s promise sparked a firestorm of criticism in the United States, mostly from Republicans who say that violent militants could enter the country by posing as refugees. More than 30 governors, most of them Republicans, have tried to block refugees from coming to their states.

The United States has offered refuge to far fewer of the millions fleeing war in Syria and Iraq than many of its closest allies. Germany has taken in hundreds of thousands. Canada admitted 26,859 Syrian refugees between Nov. 4, 2015, and May 1, 2016.

“Other nations, including ours, can and should do much more,” the senators said in the letter.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Senate passes bill allowing Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia

An American flag flies near the base of the destroyed World Trade Center in New York, in this file photo from September 11, 2001, taken after the collapse of the towers.

By Patricia Zengerle

(Reuters) – The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that would allow survivors and relatives of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks to file lawsuits seeking damages against the government of Saudi Arabia.

The legislation, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, passed in the Senate by unanimous voice vote.

If it passes the House of Representatives and is signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama, JASTA would allow lawsuits to proceed in federal court in New York as lawyers try to prove that the Saudis were involved in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The Saudis deny any involvement.

Senate committee questions Facebook over news selection

Facebook Entrance Sign

By Amy Tennery

(Reuters) – A U.S. Senate committee launched an inquiry on Tuesday into how social media website Facebook selects its news stories after a report that company employees blocked news about conservative issues from its “trending” list.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation asked Facebook Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in a letter to answer questions about the company’s news curation practices and its trending topics section.

The investigation comes after Gizmodo reported on Monday that a former Facebook employee claimed workers “routinely suppressed news stories of interest to conservative readers,” while “artificially” adding other stories to the trending list.

U.S. Senator John Thune, the chairman of the committee, told reporters Tuesday his primary concern was that Facebook may be engaging in deceptive behavior if employees meddled with what trending news was displayed.

“If you have a stated policy, which your followers or your audience knows to be the case, that you use an objective algorithm for trending topics — you better follow that policy,” Thune said. “It’s a matter of transparency and honesty and there shouldn’t be any attempt to mislead the American public.”

The letter to Facebook includes requests for information on the organizational structure for the “Trending Topics feature.”

Adam Jentleson, deputy chief of staff to Democratic Senator Harry Reid, balked at the request in a statement provided to Reuters.

“The Republican Senate refuses to hold hearings on [Supreme Court nominee] Judge [Merrick] Garland, refuses to fund the President’s request for Zika aid and takes the most days off of any Senate since 1956, but thinks Facebook hearings are a matter of urgent national interest,” Jentleson said.

A Facebook <FB.O> spokesman said the company has received the Senate letter and is reviewing it. They also denied the Gizmodo report Tuesday in a statement provided to Reuters.

“After an initial review, no evidence was found that the anonymous allegations are true,” a spokesman said.

Tom Stocky, the vice president of search at Facebook, responded to the allegations Monday night in a lengthy post published to the social media site saying there are “strict guidelines” for trending topic reviewers who “are required to accept topics that reflect real world events.”

He added that those guidelines are under “constant review” and that his team would “continue to look for improvements.”

Katie Drummond, the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo, called her publication’s story “accurate” in a statement released to Reuters Tuesday.

Gizmodo’s report alarmed several social media users, with some conservatives in particular criticizing Facebook for alleged bias.

“‘If a Conservative Speaks – and Facebook Censors Him – Does He Make a Sound?'” Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) wrote on Twitter <TWTR.N> Tuesday, with a link to a National Review story that detailed the allegations against Facebook.

(Reporting By Amy Tennery; additional reporting by Dustin Volz in Washington; Editing by Alan Crosby)

Saudi Minister confirms warning on proposed U.S. law on 911

The Tribute in Light installation is illuminated over lower Manhattan as seen from Brooklyn Bridge

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has warned the United States that a proposed U.S. law that could hold the kingdom responsible for any role in the Sept 11, 2001, attacks would erode global investor confidence in America, its foreign minister said on Monday.

The minister, Adel al-Jubeir, speaking to reporters in Geneva after talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, which mainly focused on Syria, denied that Saudi Arabia had “threatened” to withdraw investment from its close ally.

The New York Times reported last month that the Riyadh government had threatened to sell up to $750 billion worth of American assets should the U.S. Congress pass a bill that would take away immunity from foreign governments in cases arising from a “terrorist attack that kills an American on American soil”.

“We say a law like this would cause an erosion of investor confidence. But then to kind of say, ‘My God the Saudis are threatening us’ – ridiculous,” Jubeir said.

“We don’t use monetary policy and we don’t use energy policy and we don’t use economic policy for political purposes. When we invest, we invest as investors. When we sell oil, we sell oil as traders.”

Jubeir, pressed on whether the Saudia Arabia had suggested the law could affect its investment policies, said: “I say you can warn. What has happened is that people are saying we threatened. We said that a law like this is going to cause investor confidence to shrink. And so not just for Saudi Arabia, but for everybody.”

The New York Times, citing administration officials and congressional aides, said that the Obama administration had lobbied Congress to block passage of the bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year.

“In fact what they are doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle,” Jubeir said.

“That’s why the administration is opposed to it, and that’s why every country in the world is opposed to it.

“And then people say ‘Saudi Arabia is threatening the U.S. by pulling our investments’. Nonsense.”

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

U.S. Senate urges quick agreement on defense aid for Israel

An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket in the southern Israeli city of

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than four-fifths of the U.S. Senate have signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to quickly reach an agreement on a new defense aid package for Israel worth more than the current $3 billion per year.

Eighty-three of the 100 senators signed the letter, led by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Chris Coons. Senator Ted Cruz, a 2016 presidential candidate, was one of the 51 Republicans on board. The Senate’s Democratic White House hopeful, Bernie Sanders, was not among the 32 Democrats.

“In light of Israel’s dramatically rising defense challenges, we stand ready to support a substantially enhanced new long-term agreement to help provide Israel the resources it requires to defend itself and preserve its qualitative military edge,” said the letter, which was first reported by Reuters.

It did not provide a figure for the suggested aid. Israel wants $4 billion to $4.5 billion in aid in a new agreement to replace the current memorandum of understanding, or MOU, which expires in 2018. U.S. officials have given lower target figures of about $3.7 billion. They hope for a new agreement before Obama leaves office in January.

The Obama administration wants to cement a new 10-year defense aid deal before he leaves office in January to demonstrate his commitment to Israel’s security, especially after reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran that Israel strongly opposed. Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have had a tense relationship.

A White House official said discussions with Israel were continuing.

“We are prepared to sign an MOU with Israel that would constitute the largest single pledge of military assistance to any country in U.S. history,” the official said.

The funding is intended to boost Israel’s military and allow it to maintain a technological advantage over its Arab neighbors.

The letter said the Senate also intends to consider increased U.S. funding for cooperative missile defense programs, similar to increases in the past several years.

Obama has asked for $150 million for such programs, but lawmakers are believed to be willing to send Israel hundreds of millions for programs like its Iron Dome air defense system and the David’s Sling medium- and long-range military defense system.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Sandra Maler and Bernadette Baum)

U.S. Senate Boosts Travel Security

Passengers make their way in a security checkpoint at the International JFK airport in New York

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans and Democrats in the Senate reached a deal on Thursday to boost travel security at airports in the aftermath of the Brussels attacks, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Under the deal, the source said, lawmakers agreed to amend a Federal Aviation Administration bill with provisions that would bolster the vetting of airport employees with access to secure areas and authorize the Transportation Security Administration to donate security equipment to foreign airports with direct flights to the United States.

The provisions would also order a new U.S. assessment of foreign cargo security programs, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Lawmakers and their aides were continuing to negotiate over other security items that could also be added, including federal grant money for training state and local law enforcement to respond to emergencies involving armed attacks, the source said.

The deal is being brokered by Senator John Thune of South Dakota, Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and the panel’s top Democrat, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, the source said.

In coming days, the Senate is expected to vote on the FAA authorization bill, which would renew the aviation agency’s programs through September 2017.

The House of Representatives has been considering its own FAA legislation. That bill also calls for the privatization of the U.S. air traffic control system, a measure that is not in the Senate’s legislation.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

NSA Phone Spy Programs Stop When Senate Fails To Act

Due to the actions of Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, the National Security Agency is no longer allowed to spy on American’s phone calls and are no longer allowed to collect bulk phone data.

The action is considered temporary as eventually Senator Paul will not be able to stop passage of legislation that would allow certain spy programs to continue. The current Patriot Act had a Sunday night deadline to be renewed or all the spy programs approved by the law had to immediately end.

Several Republican senators were upset with their colleague stopping the law.

“We cannot go back to a pre-9/11 mentality,” New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte told Fox News.

 

“The Senate took an important–if late–step forward tonight,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement after the Senate moved forward with debate on the Act. “We call on the Senate to ensure this irresponsible lapse in authorities is as short-lived as possible.”

Officials with the NSA told CNN they officially shut down the program at 7:44 p.m. Sunday night ahead of the Senate’s inaction on the bill.

The Senate is waiting to vote on the USA Freedom Act, which makes big changes to the NSA’s ability to collect phone data but keeps other parts of the Patriot Act’s spying authorization attacks.

Texas Senate Advances Bill Banning Sharia Law

The Texas Senate has advanced a bill that would prohibit family courts in the state from considering Sharia Law when it conflicts with state law.

While the law itself does not mention Sharia Law by name, the intent of the bill from Senator Donna Campbell is to keep Sharia law from overriding federal or state Constitutions.  There had been concerns of non-Constitutional sources being used in family courts and dealing with marriage and divorce matters.

“A ruling or decision of a court, arbitrator, or administrative adjudicator under this title may not be based on a foreign law if the application of that law would violate a fundamental right guaranteed by the United States Constitution or the constitution or a statute of this state,” the bill states.

The Bill passed the Senate 20-11 after passing a House committee 5-1 last week.

“Sen. Campbell has done a great job in leading senators to advance the laws that protect our basic rights from infringement,” commented Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a statement. “SB 531 upholds Texas morals from foreign laws that contradict or violate our laws and our beliefs.”

An Islamic tribunal formed in North Texas earlier this year to arbitrate disputes between Muslims such as divorce proceedings.

“All our decisions point back to the Koran and Sunna … and what the prophet Mohammed left to us,” Dr. Taher el-Badawi, Islamic Tribunal judge, told KEYE TV.

Kentucky Senator Filibusters Over NSA Bulk Collection Procedures

“There comes a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow power to accumulate and liberty and privacy to suffer.”

With those words, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul took to the Senate floor for an eleven hour unofficial filibuster to call out the dangers of the Patriot Act’s allowing the NSA to collect information about the phone calls of all Americans.

It marked the second time Paul had used the filibuster to bring attention to what he feels are the NSA’s illegal methods for collecting information on Americans.

The Patriot Act allows the government to collect “metadata” of every call made on American phones.  While the government does not collect the actual content of the calls, the government knows who is on the phone calls and can track who an American is speaking with and for how long they speak.

The sections of the Patriot Act that allow for the bulk collection of the data expires on June 1 and while Republicans leaders in the Senate want to allow it to continue, the Senate is voting on a House-passed bill that removes the NSA authorization to collect bulk data versus a system that will allow surveillance only if a judge approves a specific request.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on whether to allow the bulk collection of American’s phone records to continue before Memorial Day.