Heinrich Requests Public Update On Status of NSA Phone Records Surveillance Program

Washington, D.C. (May 7, 2019)  – Six Senate Intelligence Committee members today requested the National Security Agency (NSA) provide a public update on the status of the NSA’s phone records surveillance program.

U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Vice-chair Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) sent the request in a letter to NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone today. 

The text of the letter is below. View a signed copy HERE.

Dear General Nakasone,

We write to urge that you provide a public description, consistent with protection of sources and methods, of the current status of the call detail record (CDR) program under Title V of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).  On June 28, 2018, NSA publicly announced that it had obtained from telecommunications service providers CDRs it was not authorized to receive, and that NSA had begun deleting all CDRs acquired since 2015.  Since then, there have been no public updates from NSA.  A public status report will resolve the current confusion, demonstrate the NSA’s commitment to transparency, and inform Congress’s deliberations about the possible reauthorization of the program later this year.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.