Heller joins move to declassify surveillance court opinions

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators revived a bill Tuesday to shed light on court rulings that have authorized government investigators to tap broadly into phone and Internet communications.

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is among eight co-sponsors of the bid to require the declassification of opinions issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the body that considers secret government requests to gather electronic information in pursuit of threats to the nation.

A similar bill failed last year during Senate debate on extending the authority of the court. But the sponsors are hoping the disclosure last week that the National Security Agency has mounted widespread data gathering on Americans will give the bill a new life.

“Ensuring Americans’ safety is one of our government’s most important responsibilities, but there is a careful balance between protecting Americans and honoring the Fourth Amendment,” Heller said.

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, and requires authorities to show probable cause and obtain court approval before conducting them.

Heller said the bill “is a measured approach that will bring more transparency to the FISA court and respect the American people’s right to know how and when the government may be accessing their personal information.”

Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democratic leader, said that while he backed the effort, he doubted the bill will win sufficient support in Congress or from President Barack Obama to become law.

“I think it is going to be ill-fated,” Durbin told The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.