[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 398 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 398

               Relating to the censure of George W. Bush.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 13, 2006

Mr. Feingold submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
               Relating to the censure of George W. Bush.

Whereas Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 
        U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and in so doing provided the executive branch with 
        clear authority to wiretap suspected terrorists inside the United 
        States;
Whereas the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 has been amended 
        multiple times since 1978, to expand the surveillance authority of the 
        executive branch and address new technological developments;
Whereas the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 states that it and the 
        criminal wiretap law are the ``exclusive means by which electronic 
        surveillance'' may be conducted by the United States Government and 
        makes it a crime to wiretap individuals without complying with this 
        statutory authority;
Whereas the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 permits the Government 
        to initiate wiretapping immediately in emergencies as long as the 
        Government obtains approval from the court established under section 103 
        of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1803) 
        within 72 hours of initiating the wiretap;
Whereas the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 authorizes wiretaps 
        without the court orders otherwise required by the Foreign Intelligence 
        Surveillance Act of 1978 for the first 15 days following a declaration 
        of war by Congress;
Whereas the Authorization for Use of Military Force that became law on September 
        18, 2001 (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), did not grant the 
        President the power to authorize wiretaps of Americans within the United 
        States without obtaining the court orders required by the Foreign 
        Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978;
Whereas the President's inherent constitutional authority does not give him the 
        power to violate the explicit statutory prohibition on warrantless 
        wiretaps in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978;
Whereas George W. Bush, President of the United States, has authorized and 
        continues to authorize wiretaps by the National Security Agency of 
        Americans within the United States without obtaining the court orders 
        required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978;
Whereas President George W. Bush has failed to inform the full congressional 
        intelligence committees about this program, as required by the National 
        Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.);
Whereas President George W. Bush repeatedly misled the public prior to the 
        public disclosure of the National Security Agency surveillance program 
        by indicating his Administration was relying on court orders to wiretap 
        suspected terrorists inside the United States, by stating--

    (1) on April 20, 2004, that ``When we're talking about chasing down 
terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so.'';

    (2) on July 14, 2004, that ``the government can't move on wiretaps or 
roving wiretaps without getting a court order''; and

    (3) on June 9, 2005, that ``Law enforcement officers need a federal 
judge's permission to wiretap a foreign terrorist's phone, a federal 
judge's permission to track his calls, or a federal judge's permission to 
search his property. Officers must meet strict standards to use any of 
these tools.'';

Whereas President George W. Bush has, since the public disclosure of the 
        National Security Agency surveillance program, falsely implied that the 
        program was necessary because the executive branch did not have 
        authority to wiretap suspected terrorists inside the United States, by 
        making statements about the supposed need for the program, including--

    (1) on January 25, 2006, stating at the National Security Agency that 
``When terrorist operatives are here in America communicating with someone 
overseas, we must understand what's going on if we're going to do our job 
to protect the people. The safety and security of the American people 
depend on our ability to find out who the terrorists are talking to, and 
what they're planning. In the weeks following September the 11th, I 
authorized a terrorist surveillance program to detect and intercept al 
Qaeda communications involving someone here in the United States.''; and

    (2) on January 31, 2006, asserting during the State of the Union that 
``The terrorist surveillance program has helped prevent terrorist attacks. 
It remains essential to the security of America. If there are people inside 
our country who are talking with al Qaeda, we want to know about it, 
because we will not sit back and wait to be hit again.''; and

Whereas President George W. Bush inaccurately stated in his January 31, 2006, 
        State of the Union address that ``Previous Presidents have used the same 
        constitutional authority I have, and federal courts have approved the 
        use of that authority.'', even though the President has failed to 
        identify a single instance since the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 
        Act of 1978 became law in which another President has authorized 
        wiretaps inside the United States without complying with the Foreign 
        Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and no Federal court has 
        evaluated whether the President has the inherent authority to authorize 
        wiretaps inside the United States without complying with the Foreign 
        Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the United States Senate does hereby censure George 
W. Bush, President of the United States, and does condemn his unlawful 
authorization of wiretaps of Americans within the United States without 
obtaining the court orders required by the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act of 1978, his failure to inform the full congressional 
intelligence committees as required by law, and his efforts to mislead 
the American people about the authorities relied upon by his 
Administration to conduct wiretaps and about the legality of the 
program.
                                 <all>