Washington, DC -- Congressman Neil Abercrombie said today that Congress must exercise its oversight authority over the National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) secret collection of domestic telephone records.

Abercrombie stated: “The staggering magnitude and scope of the NSA’s secret program to collect the telephone records of millions of Americans cry out for Congressional oversight.  That oversight has too often been weak or nonexistent in this Republican-led Congress.

“No one – not even the President – has unfettered power in the American system of government.  It was carefully constructed by the founders to provide checks and balances.  If the President thinks he’s justified in secretly tracking our phone calls to order pizza and catch up on neighborhood gossip, Congress should demand the proof.”

Earlier this month, Abercrombie and 70 other Members of Congress filed an amicus brief in federal court challenging the NSA’s warrantless wiretaps on international calls to or from telephones in the United States, despite laws prohibiting the practice.

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