Ron Wyden

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, again, like yesterday, I am making what I believe is a real offer now. I am offering, again, to extend section 702 of FISA for 5 weeks and give the public more facts about how these surveillance powers have been abused. Defenders of the status quo seem to think that there is already enough transparency around government surveillance. So let me be very specific about what the bill that I am now proposing would do. It would require more public disclosure about violations of our surveillance laws, including section 702. It would require more public disclosure about warrantless searches targeting politicians, journalists, and religious leaders. This particular category of searches more than tripled in 2025, and the FBI has refused to explain why. It would require more public disclosure about warrantless surveillance of Americans outside of FISA, which the public knows virtually nothing about. And it would require the executive branch to redact and release a March 2026 FISA Court ruling that found serious violations affecting Americans' rights. The executive branch is already required to release this ruling eventually. The chairman and the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, in fact, asked them to release it by May 15. But, unfortunately, they just brushed off the chairman and the vice chairman's request. Mr. President, so as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4740; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, just very briefly on this last point, the proposals I made yesterday and the proposals I made today are longer than anything else on offer--5 weeks--and I think that is the relevant fact. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN. Reserving the right to object. Mr. President, as the majority leader knows, the bill that came up in the House had a strong bipartisan vote this morning. It was not something that one party simply tried to jam something through on the other; it was a strong bipartisan vote. It was defeated. The House is gone until the 23rd, so they can't do anything. Now, with respect to a couple of the details made by the majority leader, I have already indicated that on offer is my proposal, which is longer than anything that has come up in the last day. It is a real offer. By the way, it is not changing any surveillance powers at all. All my proposal does is offer some transparency, and I think transparency information is relevant when there has been evidence of Americans being spied on, and I think that is why it is important. So for those reasons, Mr. President, I object.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the Senate is now debating section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires on Friday. Last week, the Senate resoundingly rejected a bill that would have continued the surveillance status quo. It is clear the path to 60 votes in the Senate on section 702 runs through real reforms. There is no reason why the Senate can't start moving forward with surveillance reform now. I and other colleagues have introduced comprehensive, bipartisan, bicameral surveillance reform legislation, which would protect both Americans' rights and national security. We have been championing these reforms for some time, but I understand the Senate is divided on the issue. So Senators are going to need to get to work trying to forge a path forward. So I am prepared to put some real offers on the table right now. So I am going to start by asking unanimous consent to pass a simple bill that makes one very important reform. It would require government agencies to get a warrant before using section 702 to read the communications of Americans. It contains a number of exceptions, including for emergencies, and our analysis is that it would be very feasible for the executive branch and the FISA Court to implement it. Most importantly, it would finally bring section 702 in line with the principles of the Fourth Amendment. Law-abiding Americans are getting swept up in section 702 now, and this bill would require that government agencies get a warrant if they want to read Americans' emails, text messages, or other sensitive communications. And let me note: A number of Republicans in both the Senate and the House have sponsored or cosponsored legislation to create the kind of warrant I am talking about. This bill is only one part of my comprehensive surveillance reform bill. It doesn't address numerous other concerns related to FISA or other intelligence authorities and the sale of Americans' location data. It is not a long-term solution by itself; it will, however, extend section 702 of FISA for 9 months, well into next year. So I would ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4738, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I think it is unfortunate what my friend from Texas is saying. Let me be clear. The warrant requirements that I am talking about are sponsored or cosponsored by Republican Members both in the Senate and in the House. And my bill does not require a warrant to search metadata. A warrant is only required to read the contents of Americans' communications.

Mr. WYDEN. Of course.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, without continuing this well into the evening, let me just say that I am quite certain that the senior Republicans who have sponsored or cosponsored these ideas understand what this is all about, and I believe we will continue this conversation. Mr. President, I am now going to move to another unanimous consent request to pass an even narrower bill that is hard to see anybody objecting to. It would not make any changes to surveillance law, but it would significantly increase public transparency about the impact of surveillance on Americans' rights. It would create some new reporting requirements that would help inform Congress and the public about surveillance activities that impact American citizens. It would direct the executive branch to declassify a March 2026 FISA Court ruling on section 702 that found significant violations affecting Americans. The executive branch is already legally required to declassify the report, and they have had 3 months to work on it; in my judgment, it needs to be redacted and released in the next couple of weeks so they can inform the surveillance debate here in the Senate. The chairman and the vice chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, which I am honored to serve on, called on the executive branch to redact and release this court ruling by May 15, but the executive branch simply disregarded their request. This bill also extends 702 for 5 weeks. On this point, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4740; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I have served on the committee for many years with my friend, and I appreciate him and don't want to give him a hard time. I am a U.S. Senator from Oregon, though, and I think I have been called the Senator from Washington.

Mr. WYDEN. Our friendship will continue. Now, Mr. President, I think, at this point, my colleague has a unanimous consent request that he wishes to make. Then I will respond, and we will complete our business for the night. So my colleague, I would say, ought to make his unanimous consent at this point.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object. I would only close my remarks by saying every day that section 702 is in effect without reforms is a day that Americans' rights are, unfortunately, under threat. If there is going to be an extension of these authorities, there need to be some guardrails or at least some transparency that would allow Congress and the American people to understand the abuses that have taken place and the need for the kind of reforms that I and, as I say, senior Republicans in both the Senate and the House have been backing. For those reasons, I object.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, just very briefly before I leave the floor, I only want to say to my friend that I am always interested in talking to him about ideas, to bring people together and find some common ground. I have said, as we have gone through this debate, that Ben Franklin summed it up as, basically, liberty and security aren't mutually exclusive. We can figure this out, but we are going to have to start talking. We are going to have to have some negotiations. I have enjoyed talking with my friend from Texas and would be happy to continue it in the future. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I have a motion to commit at the desk.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask further reading of the motion be dispensed with.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, there is nothing in this budget bill that is as important as holding down prescription drug costs for Americans. Meanwhile, Donald Trump says that he signed a deal with 17 pharmaceutical companies to get, and I quote here ``the lowest priced drugs in the world.'' Now, Trump wants Congress to put his deals into black letter law sight unseen. My amendment requires the administration to publicly disclose the details on these Trump deals, and to find out what the savings are, and also to protect trade secrets and confidential information. The Trump prescription drug deals are shrouded in secrecy. If they are what Donald Trump claims, there should be nothing to hide. This amendment gives Congress and the public the specifics on these drug deals once and for all. Patients, families, and taxpayers deserve nothing less. I urge Senators to vote for this proposal.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, very briefly--

Mr. WYDEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I have a motion to commit at the desk.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, as of a few days ago, every American taxpayer is subject to audit except for Donald Trump and all the members of the Trump family. No matter what you think about the Trump family finances, no one can deny that this is a double standard: one set of rules for an ultrawealthy individual--the most powerful person in the world--and another set of rules for everybody else. This is unjustifiable, and all of us here know it. My amendment would send the bill back to committee so that the Senate can wipe out this egregious double standard. The same tax rules ought to apply to everybody across the board. That is how you maintain fairness in the tax system. That is what my amendment is about. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, when the Senate considers the reconciliation bill, S. 2, it is my intention to make the following motions to the bill: A motion to commit the bill S. 2 to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate with instructions to report the same back to the Senate in 3 days, not counting any day on which the Senate is not in session, with changes that-- (1) are within the jurisdiction of such committee; and (2) would require-- (A) the Department of Justice to evaluate confidential drug pricing agreements entered into by any Federal department, agency, or office with any pharmaceutical manufacturer; and (B) that the provision of law commonly referred to as the ``Freedom of Information Act'' be amended in a manner that would require the public release of all such agreements, while protecting proprietary pricing information.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I expect that the Senate will soon pass by unanimous consent the Blackburn-Klobuchar Safe Cloud Storage Act. This bill will enable Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to use modern cloud computing services to store and process digital evidence when investigating online sexual abuse and exploitation. Senators Blackburn and Klobuchar worked closely with me to make important changes to this bill to strengthen the cyber security requirements for the tech companies storing such sensitive digital evidence so that hackers are not able to steal and then redistribute the extremely sensitive images and videos documenting abuse that law enforcement agencies have entrusted to these companies. I sincerely appreciate their partnership on this important issue.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following GAO opinion letter dated May 12, 2026, be printed in the Record.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 394, S.J. Res. 145.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to offer a joint resolution of disapproval that would restore critical privacy protections for consumers that the Trump administration did away with. The Fair Credit Reporting Act is one of our foremost laws aimed at protecting the privacy of the American people. The law requires that a consumer report, like a credit report or a background check, can only be provided if the report's requestor, like a creditor, landlord, or employer, certifies that it has a permissible purpose to obtain a report on a specific person. Despite these requirements, far too many Americans have been subjected to serious, outrageous breaches of privacy when companies sharing the report for one person include information pertaining to someone else. In 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau--our Nation's consumer watchdog--took action to protect Americans' privacy and crack down by issuing new guidance on the rules that surround crucial credit report privacy. The advisory opinion did something that ought to be common sense: It made it clear that your sensitive financial information couldn't be shared with landlords, loan sharks, or used car salesmen just because you had a similar name to somebody else. Once your credit info is in the wrong hands, scammers, criminals, and shady data brokers can easily use your personal information, and then they go rip you off. This was a huge win for consumer privacy, and Donald Trump gutted it. I will close with this: My resolution is simple. It would restore this advisory opinion that Trump withdrew as part of this administration's ongoing war against consumers and privacy. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in rolling back Trump's war on consumers by supporting this joint resolution that will once again restore important privacy measures for the American people. I yield the floor. Vote on Motion to Proceed

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.