H.R. 6304, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act

H.R. 6304, FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE AMENDMENTS ACT -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 14, 2008)

SPEECH OF
HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MONDAY, JULY 14, 2008

* Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Speaker I rise in opposition to H.R. 6304, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act (FISA).

* There is no question that we need to modernize the laws that govern U.S. intelligence to protect our national security, but we must also rigorously defend civil liberties and ensure accountability.

* That is why I am strongly opposed to any retroactive immunity for those telecommunications companies that are charged with violating those fundamental rights.

* Legal experts concur that President Bush's wiretapping program was, and is, in violation of the Constitution and applicable federal law. Congress as a whole was kept in the dark for years about these activities.

* It is our responsibility to protect innocent Americans who expect that their communications will remain private, except in circumstances provided under the law. Corporations that handed over their customers' records, without a valid court order or other legal instrument authorized by statute, undermined fundamental civil protections and privacy rights of Americans.

* The courts should not be prevented from ruling on the legality of the actions taken by these corporations. And Congress should not meddle in the pending lawsuits.

* Yes, we need to replace the outdated and controversial Protect America Act (S. 1927) and enable timely intelligence gathering against terrorists. But we must also ensure that power cannot be abused to violate our most precious freedoms.

* Since the tragedy of September 11, the Bush administration has abused its intelligence gathering powers. In 2005, we learned that the government had circumvented intelligence laws to spy on Americans' phone conversations. Last year, an investigation found that the FBI had misused tools intended to fight terrorism to conduct unrelated domestic surveillance. And earlier this year, reports have surfaced that the FBI requested thousands of phone records to cover up its previous abuses, and that this and other questionably obtained data is being compiled by the National Security Agency in a massive data-mining operation about which we know almost nothing.

* I cannot in good conscience vote for this bill, which gives the Bush administration even broader spying powers.

* The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act implicitly gives retroactive immunity to telecommunication companies that facilitated warrantless wiretapping over the last 7 years and ensures the dismissal of all cases pending against telecommunication companies.

* Furthermore, H.R. 6304 permits the government to conduct mass, untargeted surveillance of all communication coming into and out of the United States, without any individualized review, and without any finding of wronging doing.

* This act permits only minimal court oversight and court review is further trivialized by authorizing the Government to continue a surveillance program even after an application is denied by the court.

* The legislation also contains a loophole that permits the Government to start spying and wait for up to 7 days to go to court and obtain a warrant.

* Congress should not allow for the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens. Ensuring our national security must not come at the expense of our basic civil liberties. We can protect our Nation and our rights.

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