March 25, 2014 02:22 PM UTC

Obama Indicates Action on NSA Spying; Udall Encouraged

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• by: Colorado Pols

President Obama is preparing to act on the NSA spying controversy that has become a key issue for Sen. Mark Udall, who has been leading the charge for change. As CNN reports:

President Barack Obama and congressional leaders said Tuesday they will propose changes to the National Security Agency that would end its sweeping collection of bulk telephone records.

Obama told reporters in The Netherlands that he received from his intelligence team a "workable" option for NSA reform that he said would "eliminate" concerns about bulk data collection by the government…

…A senior administration official told CNN that the White House plan, first reported by the New York Times, would ensure "the government no longer collects or holds" the telephone records known as metadata — which includes the numbers and time of the call, but no content such as the actual conversation.

According to the official, the proposal "still ensures that the government has access to the information it needs to meet the national security needs" Obama identified in January when he outlined needed changes.

In a media release sent out today, Sen. Udall sounded an optimistic tone: "I will review the details of the president's proposal, but I am encouraged by reports that he has embraced my approach to ending the dragnet collection of Americans' private phone records. The Constitution is clear and Coloradans agree: the ongoing bulk collections of Americans' call records is an unacceptable invasion of our privacy that doesn't make us safer and must be brought to an end. I look forward to seeing the president's full proposal and continuing my work to defend the Bill of Rights and keep America secure."

Full press release after the jump.

Udall Welcomes Reports the President Will Heed His Call to End NSA Dragnet, Protect Constitutional Rights
 
Udall Has Led Bipartisan Effort to Confront NSA Overreaches, Reform Domestic Surveillance

 

Mark Udall, a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement in response to reports that the president will support Udall's proposal to rein in the NSA's bulk phone records collection program:

"I will review the details of the president's proposal, but I am encouraged by reports that he has embraced my approach to ending the dragnet collection of Americans' private phone records. The Constitution is clear and Coloradans agree: the ongoing bulk collections of Americans' call records is an unacceptable invasion of our privacy that doesn't make us safer and must be brought to an end. I look forward to seeing the president's full proposal and continuing my work to defend the Bill of Rights and keep America secure."

Udall has been leading the bipartisan effort to rein in the NSA's domestic surveillance programs, protect Americans' privacy rights and ensure intelligence agencies are held accountable. Udall also has repeatedly pressed intelligence officials on the need to reform domestic surveillance programs and protect our constitutional right to privacy.