FISA Amendments Act of 2008

FISA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008 -- (Extensions of Remarks - April 03, 2008)

SPEECH OF
HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2008

* Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the FISA Amendments Act, H.R. 3773. This bill updates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, by providing the Intelligence Community the ability to conduct surveillance of foreign targets outside the U.S. while protecting the civil liberties of Americans, and restoring constitutional checks and balances.

* As Americans, our Constitution provides us with freedoms and liberties that, as a Member of Congress, I swore an oath to uphold and defend. Since September 11, 2001, President Bush has sought to expand executive power with the claim of securing our Nation, but all too often this promise of security has been at the expense of constitutionally protected civil liberties. The American people and the world have witnessed a list of serious abuses sanctioned by the Bush administration. There have been detainees tortured, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and wiretapping of phone calls and reading of the private emails of our citizens without a warrant. These of course are only the abuses we know of in large part because we live in a society with a free press that can expose these abuses.

* To my dismay, Congress failed the American people last year when it passed the so-called Protect America Act, S. 1927, which updated FISA but allowed for the wiretapping of American citizens without a court issued warrant. The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act required the Government to obtain a warrant before eavesdropping on Americans. Judicial discretion was incorporated into this security procedure to ensure the rights of Americans were not violated. This system worked and, with minor adjustments, could be made to ensure national security and the protection of our civil liberties. Unfortunately, this White House and a majority in Congress sacrificed our civil liberties while adding no additional security benefits.

* In order to facilitate its spying on American citizens, the Bush administration elicited the assistance of some of America's largest telecommunications companies. There is a call by the administration and some Members of Congress to allow retroactive immunity for companies that broke the law by acting as co-conspirators in domestic spying on our citizens. I am strongly opposed to any retroactive immunity for those corporate conspirators who participated in violating Americans' civil liberties.

* Not all telecommunications companies complied with the administration's request to spy on Americans. Qwest, which serves Minnesota, refused to participate because the company felt uncomfortable with the legality of the request. I applaud Qwest's ethical and appropriate action on behalf of their customers and the rule of law.

* Finally, I want to thank the leadership, Chairman CONYERS, and Chairman REYES for their work in bringing this piece of legislation to the floor. I urge my colleagues to support the FISA Amendments Act because with it Congress can safeguard both the security of our nation and civil liberties.

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