FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today renewed its call on
lawmakers to reject any attempts to legitimize the warrantless wiretapping
operation by the National Security Agency and insist on a full and through
investigation into the program. The organization also welcomed a bill
co-authored by Representatives Jane Harman (D-CA), ranking member of the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and John Conyers (D-MI), ranking
member of the House Judiciary Committee, that would reinforce existing law
requiring checks and balances on surveillance of Americans in this country.
"Congresswoman Harman and Congressman Conyers should be applauded for
standing for freedom and rejecting pressures from the White House and fellow
lawmakers," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington
Legislative Office. "Oversight is essential to the proper checks and balances
that keep our government in line with the Constitution and it is vital that we
not lose sight of them. The revelation of the illegal and expansive NSA programs
to spy on Americans has left people in this country both outraged and
frustrated. Congress must stand up to the president and insist that the
Constitution and federal laws be followed by the president."
The Harman-Conyers bill, H.R. 5371, the "Lawful Intelligence and Surveillance
of Terrorists in an Emergency by NSA Act," would underscore the requirement that
the president follow the laws passed by Congress and protect Americans’ Fourth
Amendment rights. This bill, co-sponsored by 14 members of the House judiciary
and intelligence committees, would also clarify that the 2001 Authorization for
the Use of Military Force in Afghanistan does not authorize the illegal NSA
spying programs that investigative reporters have uncovered.
The ACLU today also joined with its allies to call upon Senator Arlen Specter
(R-PA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to reject any legislation
that would legitimize the illegal actions taken by the NSA. Specter has drafted
a bill that would retroactively authorize the president and NSA’s actions,
expanding the executive branch’s powers and make judicial checks to protect
innocent Americans optional.
"With the recent revelations that millions of Americans’ phone records have
been, and are currently being, swept up in the NSA’s dragnet, now is the time
for a thorough inquiry," said Lisa Graves, Senior Counsel for Legislative
Strategy. "Congress cannot and must not legislate on this issue without getting
the facts. We cannot simply allow the executive branch to trample our laws only
to be given a blank check that pardons the past and authorizes future unilateral
spying by the administration.
For more on the ACLU's concerns with the NSA Spying, go
to: www.aclu.org/nsaspying
