Today, the House of Representatives passed HR 6304, FISA Amendments Act of 2008. The bill was passed by a bipartisan majority in Congress. U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter voted in favor of the bill. Below is his statement concerning the vote.
“Today I voted to update the FISA law (originally enacted in 1978) and replace the controversial Protect America Act. This bill is a vast improvement over prior Senate versions as well as the original 1978 law.
It increases our nation’s security by ensuring there is no gap in intelligence collection against terrorists, while protecting our civil liberties by preventing the government from surveilling our citizens without a lawful warrant. This bipartisan compromise also increases oversight of intelligence activities, rejects automatic immunity for telecommunications companies, and contains a 2012 sunset so Congress can further improve it under the next Administration.
While I opposed previous attempts to change FISA because they did not include sufficient safeguards to protect against individual liberties and they provided immunity for telecom companies who unlawfully conducted warrantless surveillance, after extensive legal review of the bill, I am satisfied this legislation prevents any President from using executive power to conduct warrantless domestic surveillance. Finally, this new bill does not grant any criminal immunity to telecom companies or the government.
Specifically:
1. The new FISA legislation clarifies that the government must first obtain an individual warrant from the FISA Court based on probable cause (which is standard criminal procedure).
2. Furthermore, the bill we passed today does not allow any warrantless domestic physical searches of homes, offices, etc. Requires that surveillance be conducted in accordance with the Fourth Amendment
3. Regarding telecom immunity – the new FISA does not grant immunity to telecom companies. It requires a Federal District Court (which is more open and transparent than FISA courts) to determine whether a telecom company violated the law or not. The burden is on the telecom company to prove they did not violate the law.
Because these additional safeguards to protect individual liberty and not let telecoms off the hook were added and strengthened, I decided I could support this legislation which also provides our intelligence community with the proper, legal tools they need to help keep our country safe and secure.”
