FISA: Big Brother IS Watching You

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the continuation of FISA today at 4:30pm EST. The GOP is sponsoring an expansion of FISA that would dramatically increase the ability of the government to freely spy on private citizens. Liberals inside the Senate, angered by this, have been attempting to filibuster the move. A 30-day extension of the law as it stands now would allow Senate Democrats times to craft and propose a new law with better protections, checks and balances on the rights of individuals to privacy, and responsible use of surveillance techniques by government agencies. President Bush has threatened to veto any attempts to delay the expiration of the Protect America Act, which contains some protections.

The whole mess is very confusing. What is FISA? What is the Protect America Act? Why does it seem that Democrats are in favor of it even though it allows wiretapping? Does this law really expire?

Here's a breakdown:

What is FISA?

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 is a U.S. federal law prescribing procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between or among "foreign powers" on territory under United States control.

How does FISA function?

Primarily, FISA is operated by a secret court that issues (or denies) search warrants. The Chief Justice of the United States appoints 11 judges to serve on this court for a seven year term. There is no formal outside control of this court, which supervises itself.

How has FISA and the FISA court been modified?

In 2001, the powers of this Act were greatly expanded by the USA Patriot Act by the inclusion of surveillance of "terrorist" not specifically backed by a foreign power -- meaning, anyone the government disagrees with. In August of 2007, the Protect America Act was passed into law, further defining the scope of FISA. Primarily, PAA allows wiretapping of suspected terrorist groups or individuals who are outside the United States. PAA also requires reporting of "warrantless surveillance" to the FISA court within 72 hours of deployment.

Is FISA really going to expire?

No. The amendments to FISA (PAA) which restrict surveillance and the scope of the Act expire on Feb 1st. If this is allowed to happen, the government will have near carte blanche to spy on you. Today, the Senate has scheduled a cloture vote which would limit debate on the bill to 30 hours, and force a vote, effectively destroying any chance for a compromise, or further debate or further amendments. 60 votes are needed to force cloture.

What is it liberals want?

First, they want a 30-day extension of PAA, which would keep the (feeble) protections of individual privacy in place and allow time for the Senate to debate and implement a better law. As it stands now, GOP leaders are pushing for cloture because it would force a vote and bring PAA to an end, and endorse new laws that would grant immunity to telecom companies who cooperated with the government post-9/11. In keeping with his usual tyranny, President Bush has threatened to veto this 30-day extension.

If the Senate gets cloture and forces a vote on PAA expiration, the telecom companies who cooperated with the government after 9/11 and allowed warrentless wiretapping would be immune from civil litigation, effectively making it impossible for individuals or groups to sue them for breaches for privacy.

Conservatives are claiming that FISA itself is going to expire and liberal Democrats will be to blame for lost American lives due to an intelligence crash. This is an absolute fallacy!!! FISA does not expire. The Protect America Act is what expires, and while that does present problems, it does not indicate in any way that the United States will lose its ability to conduct foreign intelligence efforts.

If President Bush and the GOP get their way, Americans will be in danger of losing their rights to privacy completely. The Bush Administration is attacking the Fourth Amendment, which protects Americans from unreasonable search and seizure. Allowing these continual erosions of American citizens rights and protections is the exact thing the current leadership of our government wants.

Don't let it happen. Contact your Senate representatives NOW!