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Advocacy Blog
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Groups Call For the Rejection of FISA Legislation Proposed by Senator Bond
The ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO) has put out what he considers a compromise on surveillance legislation to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). OMB Watch signed on to a coalition letter strongly opposing this "compromise."
"The Bond proposal does incorporate a few improvements, including an audit of illegal warrantless surveillance and a provision reaffirming that FISA is the exclusive means by which foreign intelligence surveillance can lawfully be conducted in the United States. But these modest concessions do not offset the vast new unchecked surveillance powers the bill confers on the government."
In addition, Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) are urging those working to finalize the FISA Amendments Act to include provisions that protect the privacy of Americans and not to grant retroactive immunity to companies that allegedly cooperated in the illegal warrantless wiretapping program. Bond's proposal would give the FISA court the authority to decide whether to grant retroactive legal immunity for telecommunications companies. Feingold and Dodd sent a letter to Democratic leaders stating, "under the Bond proposal, the result of the FISA Court's evaluation would be predetermined. Regardless of how much information it is permitted to review, what standard of review is employed, how open the proceedings are, and what role the plaintiffs' lawyers are permitted to play, the FISA Court would be required to grant immunity. To agree to such a proposal would not represent a reasonable compromise."
Posted by Amanda Adams
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