FISA Update
Posted in: "War on Terror", BushCo, Citizen action, Congress, Legal, Oversight
I am hearing that the FISA bill’s path in the House and Senate this week is as follows:
– Monday: The reconciled House bill (between the two versions passed out of the Judiciary and Intel committees) will be submitted. (H.R. 3773) There are likely to be amendments from both Conyers and Reyes, I am hearing, but I haven’t gotten my hands on copies of the text of any of them as yet.
– Tuesday: The House Rules Committee: floor consideration rules of the bill will be discussed and likely set.
– Wednesday: I’m hearing this from the ACLU — “Floor vote on H.R. 3773 and any amendments permitted a vote. Plus there will be a full House vote on a “Motion to Recommit,” which is a motion made at the discretion of the Minority party in the House. The content of the MTR is uncertain but likely to be to make the PAA permanent and grant retroactive immunity/pardons for warrantless surveillance of Americans.” Their sources on vote timing on this have been pretty good, but I’m not getting independent confirmation on this with House leadership sources as yet. Will update if and when I do get some.
Thursday: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will likely report a bill out of committee in closed session. This is the bill that we are hearing may have retroactive immunity provisions for the telecom companies. I am told, again by a source at the ACLU, that they are hearing the following: “After that vote, the bill will be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, under Senate rules that permit the SJC to consider intelligence-related bills within its joint jurisdiction for up to 30 days or the bill will be automatically ripe for consideration by the full Senate after that 30-day period is up.”
I hear from several Senate sources that several members on the SJC think this is both important and necessary for the same reason that Rep. Conyers and members of the HJC wanted to go over the bill.
I am hearing a lot of buzz that both Bond and Hatch — who are in the intel committee and, in Hatch’s case, also the SJC, are pushing the “we’re including telecom immunity” meme to the press pretty hard. I’ve heard this from three different sources in the last few days.
Also, the GOP is pinning its hopes on something utterly trumped up and ridiculous. KagroX details the ins and outs on this, and the ACLU has even more on the blatant falsehoods being fronted out by the GOP, but let me just say the following: (1) FISA should not apply to foreign calls — everyone agrees on this — and so the blaming of FISA is disingenous, at best. (2) As Kagro rightly points out, the problem in getting the warrants in this case was with the Bush Administration’s staffers in the NSA and the DOJ, not with the FISA court. If they can’t do their jobs, then that is their fault, not the fault of the law or the courts. Period.
Talking points for phone calls, courtesy of the ACLU:
1. Only pass a FISA modernization bill that has individualized warrants for people in the United States.
2. DO NOT to provide telecom companies with immunity for breaking the law.
3. Blanket or program “warrants” that allow the government to vacuum up the international telephone calls and emails of Americans aren’t really warrants at all, and they aren’t constitutional.
Do make some calls on FISA today as well. You can find direct dial numbers for all Senators here, along with direct links to all of their web pages. The members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which is primarily responsible for this bill, are as follows:
*Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman — (202) 224-6472 FAX: (202) 224-7665
*Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) — (202) 224-3841 FAX: (202) 228-3954
*Sen. John Warner (R-VA) — (202) 224-2023 FAX: 202) 224-6295
*Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) — (202) 224-5244 FAX: N/A
*Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) — (202) 224-4224 FAX: (202) 224-5213
*Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) — (202) 224-5623 FAX: (202) 228-1377
*Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) — (202) 224-4654 FAX: N/A
*Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — (202) 224-5344 FAX: (202) 224-1946
*Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) — (202) 224-5274 FAX: 202-228-2183
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) — (202) 224-3154 FAX: (202) 228-2981
Sen. Kitt Bond (R-MO), Vice-Chairman — (202) 224-5721 FAX: N/A
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) — (202) 224-3521 FAX: 202-224-0103
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) — (202) 224-5251 FAX: (202) 224-6331
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) — (202) 224-5323 FAX: (202) 224-2725
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) — (202) 224-2921 FAX: 202-228-6362
The bolded Senators are the ones that need concentrated calls — the ones which are not highlighted are already on the right track or, unfortunately, likely hopeless on this issue. If Feingold or Whitehouse are your Senators, do take a little time to call and give them some thanks for standing up for the Constitution and the rule of law, but the bolded names need the most push in the next few days. Might as well make the calls count as much as possible. You can reach them toll free as well thanks to these numbers that katymine found:
1 (800) 828 – 0498
1 (800) 459 – 1887
1 (800) 614 – 2803
1 (866) 340 – 9281
1 (866) 338 – 1015
1 (877) 851 – 6437
Also, the Senate Judiciary Committee membership and contact information is as follows:
Arlen Specter – Pennsylvania – (202) 224-4254 Fax (202) 228-1229
Orrin G. Hatch – Utah – (202) 224-5251 Fax (202) 224-6331
Patrick J. Leahy (Chairman) – Vermont – (202) 224-4242 Fax (202) 224-3479
Charles E. Grassley – Iowa – (202) 224-3744 Fax (515) 288-5097
Edward M. Kennedy – Massachusetts – (202) 224-4543 Fax (202) 224-2417
Jon Kyl – Arizona – (202) 224-4521 Fax (202) 224-2207
Herbert Kohl – Wisconsin – (202) 224-5653 Fax (202) 224-9787
Jeff Sessions – Alabama – (202) 224-4124 Fax (202) 224-3149
Dianne Feinstein – California – (202) 224-3841 Fax (202) 228-3954
Lindsey Graham – South Carolina – (202) 224-5972 Fax (864) 250-4322
Russell D. Feingold – Wisconsin – (202) 224-5323 Fax (202) 224-2725
John Cornyn – Texas – (202) 224-2934 Fax (972) 239-2110
Charles E. Schumer – New York – (202) 224-6542 Fax (202) 228-3027
Sam Brownback – Kansas – (202) 224-6521 Fax (202) 228-1265
Richard J. Durbin – Illinois – (202) 224-2152 Fax (202) 228-0400
Tom Coburn – Oklahoma – (202) 224-5754 Fax (202) 224-6008
Benjamin Cardin — (202) 224-4524 Fax — 202-224-1651
Sheldon Whitehouse — (202) 224-2921 FAX — 202-228-6362
PS – Also, please keep those calls and FAXes going on SCHIP as well. The more contact they have from constituents who care about these issues, the more we let them know that we are not ready to back down. Thanks everyone for all the effort today and every day!
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