Spy program back in Senate spotlight
Two U.S. senators on Monday reintroduced a proposal designed to rein in government electronic spying activities like a once-secret National Security Agency program.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) said they'll take another crack at passing a bill establishing that a 1978 law known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, is the "exclusive means" by which electronic surveillance can be carried out by the government. FISA generally requires investigators to obtain a warrant from a secret court before monitoring communications involving foreign powers and suspected terrorists in which one end originates in the United States.
Last year's effort by Feinstein and Specter, which was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, passed narrowly in the Senate Judiciary Committee but died before going to a floor vote.
According to a a copy of the bill obtained by CNET News.com, this year's proposal would extend from 3 days to 7 days the "emergency" period in which investigators can conduct surveillance without a warrant.
In what appears to be a departure from last year's proposal, that warrantless period would also grow from 15 days under existing law to 30 days if Congress had declared war, issued an authorization to use military force, or if a terrorist attack on the United States had just occurred and a national emergency had been declared. The bill would also require the U.S. Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the NSA surveillance program.
The proposal's reemergence seems to signal lingering congressional concerns over the NSA's reported eavesdropping on e-mails and phone calls of Americans--even as the Bush Administration, in a break from its previous practices, pledged earlier this year to seek a secret court's approval for the controversial wiretaps.
Its reintroduction also arrives one day before senior Bush Administration officials are scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee to pitch their own ideas for what they called "long overdue changes" to the 1978 law.
In a move that could face resistance in Congress, the administration has indicated it would like to see changes to the law that would shield telephone companies from liability when they comply with lawful FISA requests. That's likely a response to ongoing litigation involving companies like AT&T and their allegedly illegal role in the NSA spying program.
the 4th amendment!
Impeach Bush and Cheney NOW!
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