New Authority to Monitor for the FBI


Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, issued the following comment regarding the new authority to monitor given to the FBI today by Attorney General John Ashcroft. Grassley is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Some of the current restrictions on investigations don't make sense. So, as Congress did with the Patriot Act last fall, it's logical to make some changes and especially those changes that empower field agents. That said, any time more power is given, Congress needs to be all the more vigilant in exercising its constitutional responsibility of oversight. Along with greater authority there must be greater scrutiny. Congress for too long has given the FBI too long a leash. The FBI should be prepared for tough questions from Capitol Hill about its use of all the new tools it's been given."