FISA

April 17, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey expressing concern over a statement he made, which appears to be inaccurate, regarding Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) safeguards.

Code Pink protesters: Photo by Talk Radio News Service (CC)

In the letter, Senators Casey and Whitehouse asked Attorney General Mukasey to correct remarks he made on March 27, 2008 in San Francisco, CA that implied that FISA safeguards may have stopped the U.S. government from preventing the 9/11 terrorist attacks.    » read more »

March 14, 2008 -- (Washington, DC) - House Judiciary Committe Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) delivered the following remarks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today regarding H.R. 3773, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008:

Mr. Speaker, there are few rights that are more fundamental to our democracy than the right to privacy. And there are few responsibilities that are more important than the government protecting us from foreign threats.    » read more »

March 12, 2008 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and 19 members of the House Judiciary Committee issued a statement regarding telecommunications immunity, as the House prepares to consider the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.

Following a review of classified information relating to the warrantless surveillance program and immunity for telecommunications companies, the members reported their conclusion that the administration has not established a valid and credible case to justify granting blanket retroactive immunity at this time.    » read more »

March 11, 2008 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes released the following statement in response to the Justice Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence statement on new proposed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) legislation:

“The administration, which has refused to even attend negotiation sessions between the House and the Senate, has now apparently launched another round of scare tactics and falsehoods.    » read more »

March 3, 2008 -- THE PRESIDENT: General Wasden, thank you, sir; and General Lynch, thank you for having the Attorney General and me here to visit with the nation's Attorney Generals. I thank you very much for serving the country. I'm honored that you've stepped forward to say, I'm going to put my family in such a way that we're going to serve together. And I hope you have found the experience to be as enriching as I've found it -- my experience in public life to be.    » read more »

February 28, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to President Bush’s remarks on FISA this morning.

“At a time when Congress is willing to extend the Protect America Act, the President continues to use the specter of terrorism to push an agenda that has nothing to do with making America safer. If the telecommunications companies didn’t break the law, they do not need immunity. If they broke the law, the American people deserve to know the size and scope of their lawbreaking.    » read more »

February 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Earlier today, Senator Obama voted in favor of the Dodd-Feingold amendment to repeal retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies (S. Amdt. 3907). He also supported other amendments to improve the bill, including the Feingold-Webb-Tester amendment to protect Americans from unwarranted surveillance (S. Amdt. 3979), and the Feingold amendment to protect Americans from the bulk collection of communications (S. Amdt. 3912).    » read more »

February 12, 2008 -- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – FISA – is intended to protect both our national security and the privacy and civil liberties of Americans.    » read more »

(As Prepared for Delivery)

February 12, 2008 -- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is one of our landmark statutes. For three decades, it has carefully regulated government surveillance in a way that protects both our national security and our civil liberties and prevents the government from abusing its powers. It is because FISA enhances both security and liberty that it has won broad support over the years from presidents, Congress, and the public alike.    » read more »

February 12, 2008 -- "Mr. President, last year Congress passed a temporary bill with a six month time limit that would give us the opportunity to carry out a thorough, thoughtful examination of how to utilize complicated new technologies in the surveillance of suspected terrorists without invading the privacy of innocent Americans. In the months since we passed that temporary act, we have worked in a bipartisan manner to consider the best course forward for permanent changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.    » read more »

February 12, 2008 -- "I believe we need to modernize our surveillance laws and give our nation’s intelligence professionals the tools they need to fight terrorism and to make our country more secure. At the same time, smart, balanced reform must also protect the rights and civil liberties of Americans. In my opinion, the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 falls short of these goals, and for that reason, I oppose the bill.    » read more »

(As Entered into the Record)

February 6, 2008 -- Mr. President, the amendment that I’ve offered with Senators Kerry and Menendez addresses a serious problem with the FISA bill that we are now considering, and I am very pleased that it has been incorporated into the bill by unanimous consent.    » read more »

February 5, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence threatening a veto of the FISA bill.

“This most recent veto threat by the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence reveals the shamelessness of the Administration’s approach to FISA reform.

The President has repeatedly said that Americans lives will be sacrificed if Congress does not make major changes to FISA.    » read more »

January 28, 2008 -- “The Senate today rejected the tactics of obstructionism and delay employed by the Republican minority and the White House. In refusing to allow the entire Senate the opportunity to openly and fairly debate the important issue of amending our surveillance laws, Republicans have brought to a screeching halt the Senate’s extensive efforts over the last several months to protect this country and the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans.    » read more »

January 28, 2008 -- Washington, DC – “Today, I will vote against Republican efforts to shortchange the debate on the FISA Amendments Act, important legislation that would modernize our surveillance laws and give our nation's intelligence professionals the tools they need to fight terrorism and make our country more secure.    » read more »