House irresponsible to not update foreign surveillance act

[Wretched Excess]

House irresponsible to not update foreign surveillance act
Sen. Mitch McConnell

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Congress created the office of the director of national intelligence to improve our nation's intelligence gathering. The goal was to provide America's intelligence community with the strongest possible tools to anticipate and prevent another catastrophic attack.

The director of national intelligence oversees 16 intelligence agencies and advises the president and Congress on how best to detect terrorist plots. A large part of this effort involves intercepting the communications of terrorists overseas. These intercepts provide vital information that keeps our nation safe.

At least, they did - until a law authorizing our intelligence officials to use this crucial element of our national defense to the fullest extent expired in mid-February. It expired because the U.S. House, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic leadership, refused to act.
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Even though an overwhelming, bipartisan majority in the U.S. Senate voted to extend this law, a majority of congressmen in the House indicated their willingness to do the same, and the intelligence director had been urging Congress to act for nearly a year, Pelosi chose to shut the House down and go on vacation instead.

Now, our intelligence officials are forced to battle 21st-century terrorists under old laws written in the disco era. Dating back to 1978, these laws don't take into account 30 years of technological advances - and so now, to intercept terrorist plots, intelligence officials must follow outdated, cumbersome approval processes.

Also, because the law as written does not protect phone companies from lawsuits for helping the government trace terrorist calls, those companies now face crushing lawsuits. Such litigation may be good for trial lawyers, but it jeopardizes the financial future of the phone companies - who are only trying to aid the war effort in good faith.

The director of national intelligence and others across the intelligence community have credited the capture of multiple terrorists and the disruption of significant terrorist cells to the updated, expanded law that the House allowed to expire. But today, terrorists can breathe a lot easier.

Intelligence officials who once could listen to phone conversations between terrorists overseas with appropriate speed are now legally barred from following new leads without first following antiquated, bureaucratic procedures - even if neither of the terrorists is physically within the U.S.

If a member of a previously unknown terror cell calls an eager new recruit in Pakistan, our agents now must go before a judge to demonstrate probable cause.

If a Marine in Iraq captures a terrorist from a previously unidentified terror group, our agents will not be free to call the phone numbers in this terrorist's laptop right away. If a call is placed to one of the numbers in this terrorist's laptop and routed through U.S. phone lines, our agents will have to apply for a warrant, even though the people on the other end of the phone are half a world away, the terrorist with the laptop is not an American, and all this takes place in a theater of war.

More than six years have passed without a successful terrorist attack on American soil. That hasn't happened because they've stopped trying. It's because our government has made every effort to defend our homeland. Having the best intelligence capabilities is a crucial part of that defense.

As the House reconvenes, the Democratic leadership must allow a vote on this vital national-security legislation to ensure we are doing all we can to keep our citizens safe. As lawmakers, we have no higher responsibility.

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unless they are just suicidal, I suspect the house may wind up doing the right thing because it's an election year.

[NHSparky]

They won't--my congresscritter (Carol Che-Porter) has already said she'd vote against it.

Another reason she needs to go NOW.

[Wretched Excess]

They won't--my congresscritter (Carol Che-Porter) has already said she'd vote against it.

Another reason she needs to go NOW.

then we get a great campaign issue to blow them apart over.

[Chris_]

Rumor: FISA Deal Reached In House

To break an impasse over legislation overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, House Democratic leaders are considering the option of taking up a Senate-passed FISA bill in stages, congressional sources said today. Under the plan, the House would vote separately on the first title of the bill, which authorizes surveillance activities, and then on the bill’s second title, which grants retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies that aided the Bush administration’s warrantless electronic surveillance activities. The two would be recombined, assuming passage of both titles.

In this way, Democratic leaders believe they can give an out to lawmakers opposed to the retroactive immunity provision. Republican leadership sources said their caucus would back such a plan because not only would it give Democratic leaders the out they need, it would provide a political win for the GOP. It remains to be seen if such a move will placate liberal Democrats who adamantly oppose giving in to the Bush administration on the immunity issue.


http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/03/rumor_fisa_deal_reached_in_the.php

[Wretched Excess]

Rumor: FISA Deal Reached In House

To break an impasse over legislation overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, House Democratic leaders are considering the option of taking up a Senate-passed FISA bill in stages, congressional sources said today. Under the plan, the House would vote separately on the first title of the bill, which authorizes surveillance activities, and then on the bill’s second title, which grants retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies that aided the Bush administration’s warrantless electronic surveillance activities. The two would be recombined, assuming passage of both titles.

In this way, Democratic leaders believe they can give an out to lawmakers opposed to the retroactive immunity provision. Republican leadership sources said their caucus would back such a plan because not only would it give Democratic leaders the out they need, it would provide a political win for the GOP. It remains to be seen if such a move will placate liberal Democrats who adamantly oppose giving in to the Bush administration on the immunity issue.


http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/03/rumor_fisa_deal_reached_in_the.php

surrender is turning out to be the hallmark of the pelosi speakership.