The president won't get a blank check on illegal spying today.
The Senate just adjourned and now both houses are in recess until 11/9--they'll come in that day for bills to be introduced, but there will be no votes that day. The Senate returns for votes starting at 2 p.m. on 11/13 for the "lame duck" session.
Many thanks to everyone in the coalition who has been working so hard against the White House-Wilson bill. Last night our bipartisan allies in the House spoke out in defense of the Fourth Amendment with passion and strength.
The majority denied any opportunity to offer the bipartisan substitute as an amendment we supported
On Thursday, September 7, the Senate Judiciary Committee met to mark up the Cheney-Specter bill, S. 2453. Instead of showing any desire to reassert their constitutionally established powers to hold the executive branch accountable to the rule of law, the Republican majority chose instead to lie down and grant the president a "blank check" to trample our ri
Memo from D.C., by Lisa Graves, Senior Counsel for Legislative Strategy
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter has attracted some good press for his saber rattling on President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, but behind the headlines his bill, co-authored with Vice President Dick Cheney, would basically repe
We're obviously disappointed with today's vote to reauthorize the Patriot Act without common sense reforms to ensure that anti-terrorism resources are focused on agents of al Qaeda, and not used to invade the private financial, medical, library and internet records of ordinary Americans.
We applaud the valiant efforts of Senators Feingol
Representatives returned to Washington this week, for the White House Christmas party. One unintended effect of this winter tradition is that it often extends the session. Rather than wrap up legislative work and recess well before Thanksgiving, leaders figure that powerful politicians will be back in town the first week of December for the big party, so why not mix b
As you know, some partisans in Congress were determined last week to steamroll through a bill to make most of the Patriot Act permanent and some of it even worse. Members of Congress and allies of reform were pressured into the wee hours of the night on Thursday to try to get a bipartisan stamp of approval on a bill that refl
