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Advocacy Blog
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
New FISA Plan This Week in the House
House Democrats plan to consider legislation to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) this week. Importantly, the draft proposal would not fall in line with the Senate bill and grant retroactive immunity to phone companies that helped the administration with its warrantless wiretapping program. According to the New York Times, "the tentative proposal would give the federal courts special authorization to hear classified evidence and decide whether the phone companies should be held liable. House Democrats have been working out the details of their proposal in the last few days, officials said, and expect to take it to the House floor for a vote on Thursday."
In addition, the measure would include the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the warrantless surveillance initiative, and find out how the program was run. The House bill would also require a warrant for the surveillance of foreign targets that may be communicating with people in the U.S., but would permit surveillance of a large number of such targets at once. It also requires court approval of new surveillance programs before they begin, except for in emergencies. The major difference regarding retroactive immunity will remain, leaving acceptance in the Senate questionable.
Posted by Amanda Adams
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