ACLU Condemns Senate Vote on Judiciary Amendment (1/24/2008)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:202-675-2312 or
media@dcaclu.org
Washington, DC – The Senate took its first step towards
legitimizing the president’s warrantless wiretapping program today by voting
against a substitute amendment to the FISA Amendments Act of 2007. By a vote of 60 to 34, senators rejected
replacing the base bill with an alternate version authored by the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
The base bill will now continue to be the legislation passed
out of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which strongly resembles the
disastrous Protect America Act and authorizes year-long programs of warrantless
wiretapping. The bill also allows
for surveillance dragnets that can sweep up Americans’ communications and
includes immunity for telecom companies who aided in domestic spying. The Judiciary Committee’s bill would
have provided stronger protections for Americans’ privacy and sought greater
judicial oversight of warrantless wiretapping. The American Civil Liberties Union
emphatically condemned the vote.
The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson,
director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
“It appears the Senate is buckling under pressure from the
White House. The Judiciary
Committee’s alternative included vastly improved privacy protections for
Americans over both the Intelligence Committee bill and the Protect America
Act. By rejecting the Senate
Judiciary Committee’s language, the Senate has rejected the constitutionally
superior bill.
“Under Democratic leadership, the Senate will now continue
its debate on surveillance with a bill that resembles something from the
administration’s playbook. Six
months after being hoodwinked into passing the Protect America Act, Americans
are still waiting for Congress to grow a spine.
“Instead of capitulating to the administration, senators
should listen to their constituents who overwhelmingly oppose warrantless
wiretapping and telecom immunity.
As the FISA debate moves forward, we urge the Senate to wake up and
realize it is a co-equal branch of government.”
For more
information on FISA, go to:
www.aclu.org/fisa
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