Tom Coburn:" NSA's egregious, unacceptable violations were not allowed to continue—they were corrected"

Correspondence from Sen. Coburn over NSA's liberty violations.

Thank you for your email regarding National Security Agency (NSA) programs in relation to Americans’ constitutional rights. It is good to hear from you.

 

The War on Terror is being fought not only in foreign lands, but within our country. We must be cautious not to give away our freedom in the name of national security, but I believe we can balance our national security and the freedoms we enjoy to ensure that an attack, such as the ones that occurred on September 11, 2001—never happens again.

 

As long as I have served in Congress, my top priority has been to protect Americans’ constitutional rights. Whether it has been protecting Americans from legislation which would infringe on their Second Amendment rights, United Nations treaties which infringe on our nation’s sovereignty, or unconstitutional Obama Administration policies, I have, and will continue, to ensure Americans rights and freedoms are protected.

 

There has been considerable speculation in the press about a number of NSA programs after the unauthorized disclosure of classified information by NSA contractor Edward Snowden. I understand why many Americans were outraged upon first hearing about the programs, but much of the information reported has been inaccurate and incomplete. As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I have provided oversight on these programs for a number of years, and I do not believe the fundamental structure of the program infringes upon the constitutional rights of American citizens. As you know, mistakes and violations have occurred at the NSA have been reported. These violations were not allowed to continue—they were corrected. Furthermore, these mistakes and violations were egregious, unacceptable, and must never be tolerated from any government agency.

 

As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, my top priority is to protect and defend the Constitution and the rights of American citizens. I will continue to oppose all legislation and government programs that threaten Americans’ freedom and liberty.

 

Again, thank you for your input on this important topic. God bless.

 

Sincerely,

Tom A. Coburn, M.D.

United States Senator

 

TC: jw

Seems like a funny thing to claim that NSA violations were corrected. The president hasn't even acted on his commission's recommendations yet, we should hear about those in the coming weeks before his SOTU address where I'm guessing he will pivot to the mid-term strategy of income-inequality. 

Tom Coburn re: NSA Spying

So here is the response I got from Coburn. I wrote about my concern of the illegal spying done by the NSA.Somehow I get a response about a study of "fusion centers". Read the response letter below .

Senator_Coburn@coburn.senate.gov
Dear ProgressiveOkie   Thank you for your email regarding my report on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “fusion centers” and your recommendation to audit DHS fusion centers. It is good to hear from you, and I sincerely apologize for the delay in my response.   As your email states, I recently released a two-year, bipartisan investigation that found that DHS efforts to engage state and local intelligence “fusion centers” has wasted taxpayer money, not yielded significant useful information to support federal counterterrorism intelligence efforts, and sometimes even endangered citizens’ civil liberties. This report only covers the federal government’s involvement in fusion centers, which are state and local entities. You can find this report here: http://1.usa.gov/PTGyi4.   Although I cannot speak as to exactly what each fusion center is doing, there has been no evidence to support that the federal government is systematically illegally spying on American citizens. However, I understand your concern, based on the lack of judgment and oversight of these centers. Furthermore, I strongly question the federal funding these centers receive, which DHS estimates to be between $289 million and $1.4 billion since 2003—broad estimates that differ by more than $1 billion.   I support your recommendation to audit DHS fusion centers. Granting funds for state and local fusion center efforts year after year, without expecting or even examining the results received from previous grants, provides no mechanism to ensure federal taxpayers receive a return on their investments.   As your Senator and the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I will continue to identify the wasteful, duplicative, and unnecessary spending at DHS and will continue to advocate for common-sense solutions to reduce our $17 trillion in national debt.   Again, thank you for your email. God bless.   Sincerely, December 9, 2013 Tom A. Coburn, M.D. United States Senator   TC: jw