http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=86082Washington, Mar 14 -
"Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) released the following statement regarding his opposition to the FISA Amendments Act of 2008:
“Blanket warrants, institutionalized by the Protect America Act, will continue with the enactment of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Under this bill surveillance of persons abroad could infringe on the Fourth Amendment rights of U.S. citizens,” Kucinich said.
The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 is the latest version of FISA legislation to be considered by the House of Representatives. Provisions outlining the conditions under which a warrant can be issued are vague. They require no evidence of wrongdoing and contain no explanation of how the information will be collected. The bill also permits warrants of an undefined scope. They do not need to contain details about the facilities, places, premises or property to be searched. These provisions undermine America’s Fourth Amendment rights.
“The Constitution dictates that the government must have cause to spy on U.S. citizens. But this bill ensures that all targeted international communication that the government intercepts is not covered by the Fourth Amendment even if a U.S. citizen is involved.
“Although this legislation was an improvement over past versions of irresponsible FISA legislation, it does not include retroactive immunity for telecommunication companies and ensures that the courthouse door remains open. I cannot support a bill that undermines Constitutional protection of civil liberties.”
“If we permit our constitutional rights to be watered down out of fear, we have given up our democracy. Congress must stand firm and defend the Constitution,” said Kucinich."
New FISA Compromise Is an Improvement, Still Raises Concerns (3/11/2008)
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/34440prs20080311.html"...We do, however, continue to have the same reservations we had about the RESTORE Act passed by the House last fall. The provisions in that bill and this new bill allowing for bulk collection of communications and dragnets are inconsistent with Fourth Amendment protections and thus we cannot endorse the bill.
"Nonetheless, we see the House’s new FISA bill as a positive step towards reining in the powers of the flawed Protect America Act rushed through Congress this past August and a clear rejection of the Senate’s problematic approach..."
The House Stands Up to Scare Tactics, House Votes to Let Consumers Have Their Day in Court (3/14/2008)
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/34483prs20080314.html“...In spite of partisan scare tactics, the House of Representatives rose up today and put Americans’ civil liberties concerns ahead of politics,” said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the Washington Legislative Office of the ACLU. “The House bill, while allowing problematic basket warrants, does ensure judicial oversight of domestic surveillance and provides a mechanism for both the telecommunications companies and their consumers to make their case in a court of law.”
Fredrickson said, “The best course of action for the House is to let FISA do what it has been doing for thirty years..."