For more information, contact:
Gregory T. Nojeim
(202) 637-9800 x 113

Statement of the Center for Democracy & Technology on Passage of Senate bill S2248, The FISA Amendments Act

Washington--The Center for Democracy & Technology is deeply dismayed that the Senate has passed legislation permitting warrantless surveillance of the Internet and telephone communications that people in the U.S. have with others abroad, and providing immunity to telephone companies that assisted with illegal warrantless surveillance for years after September 11.

"The Senate choose to put the politics of fear ahead of the rights of Americans," said Leslie Harris, President and CEO of CDT. "It could have provided intelligence agencies the tools they need without sacrificing civil liberties," Harris said. "At the end of the day, the judiciary, not spy agencies acting alone, should have oversight of surveillance programs where the communications of Americans are involved."

In deliberations over the last two weeks, the Senate rejected amendments intended to:

Prevent the government from engaging in "bulk collection" of all communications coming into or going out of the United States.
Require an individual court order when the focus of surveillance had shifted from a target abroad to someone in the United States.
Make it clear that the President must stay within the bounds of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and cannot rely on his own interpretation of his powers to order surveillance.

"The House did a much better job of balancing security and liberty," Harris said, referring to a companion bill, the RESTORE Act (H.R. 3773), passed late last year. "The House bill requires prior judicial approval of key aspects of any surveillance program that will intercept calls to and from the U.S."

Gregory T. Nojeim, Director of CDT’s Project on Freedom, Security and Technology criticized the Senate bill for granting immunity to telephone companies that assisted with the NSA’s illegal, warrantless surveillance program, and praised the House bill for taking a different approach. "By rejecting telecom immunity, the House bill would ensure that telephone companies will have an incentive to insist on a court order before they tap the email and calls of Americans," Nojeim said. "We urge the House of Representatives to stand by its stronger bill."

The legislation is being considered under a looming, but artificial deadline, because stopgap surveillance legislation passed last August expires on February 16. "The sky will not fall if Congress fails to act. All ongoing surveillance programs can continue for up to a year and surveillance of new targets abroad can be conducted under those existing programs," Nojeim added. "If the House and Senate cannot agree on a strong, balanced bill, the best course might be to extend current law, and give the new President a chance to work this out next year."

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