Author of PATRIOT Act Calls NSA Phone Tracking Excessive

The kind of abuse he was worried about

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), who wrote and introduced the PATRIOT Act to Congress in 2001, said in a statement Thursday that the National Security Agency overstepped its bounds by issuing a secret order to collect phone log records from millions of Americans.

"As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the FBI's interpretation of this legislation," he said in a statement. "While I believe the Patriot Act appropriately balanced national security concerns and civil rights, I have always worried about potential abuses.