U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, said the attention that is being discussed on the steps taken by the National Security Agency that have recently come to light as a result of a former government contractor deserve scrutiny.
"I agree that we need to investigate this fully and debate this fully," he said Friday during a phone interview.
Earlier this month, Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton, Hawaii, said the NSA is collecting phone records of Americans and collecting data from Internet companies that could point to suspicious behavior that starts overseas.
As has been reported previously by The Associated Press, both items were approved by a judge.
President Barack Obama said that the government is not listening to the phone calls of its citizens.
It has been reported that the phone records are analyzed to identify any connections to terrorist activity.
Booz Allen Hamilton said on its website that Snowden was employed with the company for less than three months, assigned to Hawaii, paid $122,000 and was fired Monday "for violations of the firm's code of ethics and firm policy." It did not offer further information about what that entailed. However, the company did say that if he did leak classified information, it represents a "grave violation of the code and core values of our firm." It went on to say the company will work with whomever it must to resolve the issue.
Cartwright stated very clearly what he believes should happen to Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong.
"He should be extradited to the United States for trial," he said.
It is too early to tell if Snowden is a hero or a traitor, Cartwright said.
"I want the facts to come out. He's making all sorts of very serious charges about our country," he said.
Bringing Snowden back will give him a chance to share his story and have him cross examined, he said.
Cartwright said he and others were in an NSA briefing Tuesday for about 90 minutes with members of the agency and other government officials.
"We learned some things that I certainly did not know before," he said without elaborating.
He understands the concerns of Americans about privacy versus combating terrorism.
"I see it as a spectrum," he said about the issue. He said there are people who say that privacy should be surrendered to prevent terrorist acts and those who would not agree to such a policy.
Personally, Cartwright said he leans more to the privacy end of the scale.
That is because he has been involved in protecting individual civil liberties as an attorney at a law firm, he said.
Cartwright said both Democrats and Republicans are concerned about the surveillance issue.
"This is not a party line dispute," he said, something he found refreshing.
He will continue to be involved in the debate because of its importance, he said.