Schiff, Flake, Offer Bipartisan Measure to Prohibit NSA Surveillance of Americans on American Soil Unless Authorized by Law

Schiff, Flake, Offer Bipartisan Measure to Prohibit NSA Surveillance of Americans on American Soil Unless Authorized by Law

Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ), members of the House Judiciary Committee, will offer bipartisan legislation on the House Floor today to address the President's domestic surveillance program. The Schiff/Flake substitute is an alternative to the Administration-backed bill that would give the President unprecedented powers to surveil Americans without Congressional or court review. The Schiff/Flake substitute would update provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to provide intelligence agencies more flexibility in emergency situations and lesser bureaucratic red tape when applying for warrants, while still requiring court orders for domestic surveillance of Americans.

"The Federal Government has a duty to pursue al Qaeda and other enemies of the U.S. with all available tools to thwart future attacks and to destroy the enemy," said Schiff. "Electronic surveillance of those seeking to harm our country must continue; it must also comply with the Constitution."

The Schiff-Flake legislation responds to the issues that have been raised by officials at the NSA (National Security Agency) and the Department of Justice over the last several months in testimony to Congress.

http://schiff.house.gov/HoR/CA29/Newsroom/Press+Releases/2006/Schiff+Flake+Offer+Bipartisan+Measure+to+Prohibit+NSA+Surveillance+of+Americans+on+American+Soil+Unl.htm