FISA Amendment Passes with Klobuchar’s Support
Monday, August 06, 2007 at 1:00 pm
- 2 Comments
Before leaving Washington for the August recess last week, Congress passed a bill amending the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act.
FISA has come under increased scrutiny over the past two years as the Bush administration has grudgingly revealed details of wiretaps conducted on American citizens without a warrant. Such warrants are required under FISA and are almost never denied, but the Bush Administration has maintained that Congress indirectly gave the president the authority to circumvent FISA with its use-of-force authorization after 9/11.
The bill, signed into law this morning by President Bush, was panned heavily by left-leaning activist groups and bloggers who see it as validation of illegal activity conducted by members of the Bush administration. Intelligence experts have said that the legislation more or less legalizes the program, but how it affects previously illegal activity remains to be seen.
In the run-up to the final vote on the bill, the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent an action alert to its members opposing the bill, saying “[m]ake no mistake, if Congress doesn’t take a stand now, Bush will continue to bulldoze over Congress and play on lawmakers’ timidity and political calculation in the months ahead. No president should have powers to spy on Americans’ e-mails or phone calls without individual warrants, period.”
Nevertheless, several Democrats in both houses broke with their parties to support the measure, including Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar. In a statement on the bill, Klobuchar said
The bill approved by the House and Senate this week provides a temporary six-month extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. While I supported the extension as a temporary measure, I remain concerned about whether there are adequate safeguards in the bill, and will work with my colleagues to address these concerns in the next six months while we enact a permanent extension of FISA.
Contacted over the weekend, a member of Klobuchar’s staff echoed her statement, saying that while there are significant concerns about the bill and its effect on civil liberties, the resulting law will sunset in six months, giving Congress time to fix its existing issues. Her staff expressed confidence that fixing the bill will be at the top of the priority list at that time, but also that something needed to be done immediately for national security concerns.
2 Comments
Comment posted August 7, 2007 @ 8:38 am
So far on Iraq and domestic spying, Klobuchar has voted just like Mark Kennedy Thanks a lot Amy. Oh, and by the way, did you read the entire bill?
The Bush administration also fixed an odd quirk of the surveillance law that it said had emerged with the rapid technological growth of the past two decades: The government had to get legal approval to listen in on foreign suspects who are located overseas but whose conversations cross into the extensive U.S. communications network, as millions of international calls and e-mails do each day.
While the law is in effect, that legal approval will no longer be required, officials acknowledged.
The power may last longer than some people expect, Graves noted, thanks to a little-noticed provision of the bill. While the law expires in February unless Congress acts to extend it, any surveillance orders that are in place when it sunsets can last up to a full year, she said.
Without a repeal, lawmakers “weren’t just giving them the power for six months. They were giving it to them for the rest of the administration,” Graves said.
Comment posted August 7, 2007 @ 3:38 am
So far on Iraq and domestic spying, Klobuchar has voted just like Mark Kennedy Thanks a lot Amy. Oh, and by the way, did you read the entire bill?
The Bush administration also fixed an odd quirk of the surveillance law that it said had emerged with the rapid technological growth of the past two decades: The government had to get legal approval to listen in on foreign suspects who are located overseas but whose conversations cross into the extensive U.S. communications network, as millions of international calls and e-mails do each day.
While the law is in effect, that legal approval will no longer be required, officials acknowledged.
The power may last longer than some people expect, Graves noted, thanks to a little-noticed provision of the bill. While the law expires in February unless Congress acts to extend it, any surveillance orders that are in place when it sunsets can last up to a full year, she said.
Without a repeal, lawmakers “weren't just giving them the power for six months. They were giving it to them for the rest of the administration,” Graves said.
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