U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after President Barack Obama outlined plans to improve privacy protections within the National Security Agency's surveillance programs:
"I commend President Obama for taking action to improve the NSA's surveillance programs to ensure they are properly respecting the privacy of law-abiding Americans while protecting our nation from our enemies. As I have said before, this issue requires a thorough and transparent review of the collection programs so that we can tighten restrictions on the NSA, repeal what doesn't work, and improve the effective parts of the program that keep our citizens safe. Declassified information from the White House has shown that this program is effective, so we need to work to enhance safeguards to guarantee that we are not infringing on Americans' civil liberties. I look forward to working with my colleagues, involved stakeholders, and any concerned citizens on this important issue."
In July, Hanabusa and a group of her Democratic colleagues sent a letter to President Obama expressing their concerns about the NSA's collection programs.
For more information about the letter, click here: http://1.usa.gov/18hSeV7.