West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said on Sunday that the surveillance employed by the National Security agency was on a level of being watched by Big Brother, of Orwellian fame.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Manchin said that it was disconcerting to learn how comprehensive the surveillance actually is.

"We always heard as a child growing up and in different phases of our life, that Big Brother is watching you," Manchin said. "And now we found out that Big Brother is truly watching you."

He also addressed last week's report which listed a series of reforms that ought to be made to the surveillance.

"The thing we need to do in this country, which is our responsibility, especially as elected officials and the government as a whole, is how do we protect the privacies of each and every American, but also protect the security of our country?" Manchin said. "There's a fine balance there. So I'm open to listening to all the recommendations that has come out to see if we can improve upon that, without infringing on my rights and my freedoms and my privacy."

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