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The short explanation of this alert was:
By a vote of 13-2, the Senate Intelligence Committee recently passed a bill (S.2248) that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies involved in the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless wiretapping program. The Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday Oct. 31 to consider the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 (FAA), as reported by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
We are urging that language regarding immunity for telecommunications companies be removed. Blindly granting immunity severely impedes the necessary role of the judiciary in conducting oversight and holding the private sector accountable to the laws of the land. Congress should trust the judiciary to uncover the truth and resolve these issues fairly without preempting and unnecessarily short-circuiting due process of law.
Your Senators need to know that telecom immunity is not the only critical issue raised in the Senate bill. There are some important differences between the Senate bill and the House bill (HR 3773, the RESTORE Act) that make the Senate version considerably worse. For example, in the Senate bill;
- surveillance is authorized by the Executive Branch and in the House bill the FISA court authorizes the surveillance;
- under the Senate bill, the Court does not have to approve whether the targeting and minimization procedures the FISA court approved are being followed;
- there is an almost insignificant prohibition on "reverse targeting" and decisions about whether it has occurred are left to the discretion of the Executive Branch;
- and there is a 6-year sunset while the House bill has a 2 year sunset.
OMB Watch sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary opposing any form of immunity for telecommunications companies alleged to have assisted intelligence agencies. Now it is your turn!
Tell your Members to reject all efforts to grant retroactive immunity to telecom companies that assisted in the administration's illegal wiretapping and handed over their customers' private information without a warrant.
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