[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 52 (Thursday, April 3, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FISA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 14, 2008

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
the FISA Amendments Act, H.R. 3773. This bill updates the Foreign 
Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, by providing the Intelligence 
Community the ability to conduct surveillance of foreign targets 
outside the U.S. while protecting the civil liberties of Americans, and 
restoring constitutional checks and balances.
  As Americans, our Constitution provides us with freedoms and 
liberties that, as a Member of Congress, I swore an oath to uphold and 
defend. Since September 11, 2001, President Bush has sought to expand 
executive power with the claim of securing our Nation, but all too 
often this promise of security has been at the expense of 
constitutionally protected civil liberties. The American people and the 
world have witnessed a list of serious abuses sanctioned by the Bush 
administration. There have been detainees tortured, the suspension of 
the writ of habeas corpus, and wiretapping of phone calls and reading 
of the private emails of our citizens without a warrant. These of 
course are only the abuses we know of in large part because we live in 
a society with a free press that can expose these abuses.
  To my dismay, Congress failed the American people last year when it 
passed the so-called Protect America Act, S. 1927, which updated FISA 
but allowed for the wiretapping of American citizens without a court 
issued warrant. The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act required 
the Government to obtain a warrant before eavesdropping on Americans. 
Judicial discretion was incorporated into this security procedure to 
ensure the rights of Americans were not violated. This system worked 
and, with minor adjustments, could be made to ensure national security 
and the protection of our civil liberties. Unfortunately, this White 
House and a majority in Congress sacrificed our civil liberties while 
adding no additional security benefits.
  In order to facilitate its spying on American citizens, the Bush 
administration elicited the assistance of some of America's largest 
telecommunications companies. There is a call by the administration and 
some Members of Congress to allow retroactive immunity for companies 
that broke the law by acting as co-conspirators in domestic spying on 
our citizens. I am strongly opposed to any retroactive immunity for 
those corporate conspirators who participated in violating Americans' 
civil liberties.
  Not all telecommunications companies complied with the 
administration's request to spy on Americans. Qwest, which serves 
Minnesota, refused to participate because the company felt 
uncomfortable with the legality of the request. I applaud Qwest's 
ethical and appropriate action on behalf of their customers and the 
rule of law.
  Finally, I want to thank the leadership, Chairman Conyers, and 
Chairman Reyes for their work in bringing this piece of legislation to 
the floor. I urge my colleagues to support the FISA Amendments Act 
because with it Congress can safeguard both the security of our nation 
and civil liberties.

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