OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

FISA Amendments Act of 2008

Date: March 14, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security


FISA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - March 14, 2008)

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Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we all took an oath in this Chamber to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. That is what this debate here today is really all about.

By allowing the Protect America Act to expire, we are extending constitutional protections to foreign terrorists. This bill does nothing to fix that problem.

We need to pass this Senate bill that passed overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis. I worked in the Justice Department on FISA warrants. The statute was never designed to apply to foreign terrorists in a foreign country, as recently stated by admiral Bobby Inman, the principal author of the FISA statute.

I want to point out two articles that were in The New York Times today: ``Afghanistan: Taliban Destroy Cell Towers.'' ``Taliban Threatens Afghan Cellphone Companies.''

This is what is happening. We need to protect America now by making the Protect America Act permanent. The Taliban in their own words, their own statements, says the surveillance program has ``caused heavy casualties to Taliban'' in great proportions.

It is time to pass the Protect America Act.

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