Jeff Merkley

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is hopping mad. Sensenbrenner considers himself the father of the Patriot Act, the 2001 law that gave the federal government new powers to investigate potential...

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of senators is introducing new legislation that they say will provide greater transparency of National Security Agency surveillance programs, the first significant legislative response to the revelation of the...

WASHINGTON — The massive leaks about U.S. spying systems caused sharp political and legal aftershocks Tuesday as the Justice Department prepared to file criminal charges against Edward Snowden, a government contractor who has publicly admitted...

++++++++++++++++++++ ||   || ||   || ++++++++++++++++++++ WASHINGTON --  The Obama administration has launched an internal review of the potential damage to national security from leaks about U.S. surveillance efforts, as a group of senators and...

"Secret law is inconsistent with democratic governance. In order for the rule of law to prevail, the requirements of the law must be publicly discoverable." So began an amendment that Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) proposed to last year's Foreign...

* Booz Allen Hamilton says has fired Snowden * Top Republican calls Snowden "a traitor" * Google and others seek loosening of secrecy on requests * Privacy groups want surveillance programs investigated * Civil liberties group files court challenge...

The government has secretly amassed an enormous database of telephone call records. Here are the answers to some questions about the program: Q: What information does the government have? A: It has collected the equivalent of phone logs showing...

WASHINGTON - Working on a new farm bill, the Senate recently defeated an amendment to change the sugar program but limited the crop insurance premium subsidies for high-income farmers before putting off further action on the bill until after a Memorial...

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that he will delay votes on several of President Obama’s nominees for key posts until July, a decision raising the prospect that he’ll seek further changes to Senate rules...

WASHINGTON — President Obama's nominee to lead the Energy Department won unanimous confirmation by the Senate on Thursday while two other Cabinet choices narrowly advanced out of committee, amid complaints from Democrats over Republican delaying...

A growing number of Indian tribes are getting into the payday loan business, saying they just want to raise revenue for their reservations while helping cash-strapped consumers nationwide. But federal officials suspect that, at least in some cases,...

The following guest commentary was written by Carl Levin, the senior U.S. senator from Michigan. In April 2012, Americans were confronted with a story of Wall Street excess and derivatives disaster now known as the JPMorgan Chase whale trades. Those...