Reid to bring Intel committee FISA bill to floor Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced today that he will bring the Senate Intelligence Committee’s version of the FISA surveillance bill as the “base text” for a vote on Monday. The Intelligence Committee legislation contains retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. Reid said he will offer the Judiciary Committee’s bill, which does not contain the immunity clause, as a standing amendment.
See Reid’s full statement on the legislation below.
“I will shortly move to proceed to S. 2248, the FISA Improvement Act of 2007. I spoke briefly on this subject earlier, but I want to provide a more complete explanation of the process by which the Senate will consider this important bill. Earlier this year, the Director of National Intelligence came to Congress and alerted us to what he described as a significant gap that had emerged in our nation’s foreign intelligence gathering capacity.
“Members on both sides of the aisle — and from all sides of this important debate — became convinced that this problem was real, and that we had an obligation to address it. Although we may differ on the solutions required, all Senators — both Democrats and Republicans — want to ensure that intelligence professionals have the tools they need to keep our country as safe as possible. We worked in good faith with the Administration through July and August to provide those tools in a way that protects the privacy and liberties of law-abiding Americans. Unfortunately, the final bill signed by President Bush fell well short of that goal.
“Many other Democrats and I opposed the so-called Protect America Act. That’s why we made sure that it had a six-month sunset so that we could come back to do a better job of ensuring judicial and congressional oversight of these sensitive activities. As my colleagues know, the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees share jurisdiction over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Both Committees have worked diligently over the past few months, this hard work has resulted in two different versions of legislation to improve FISA — S. 2248 — reported out of the Committees. I consulted extensively with Chairman Rockefeller and Chairman Leahy about the best way for the Senate to consider this subject.
“I have determined that in this situation, it would be wrong of me to simply choose one committee’s bill over the other. I personally favor many of the additional protections included in the Judiciary Committee bill, and I oppose the concept of retroactive immunity in the Intelligence bill. But I cannot ignore the fact that the Intelligence bill was reported favorably by a vote of 13-2, with most Democrats on the committee supporting that approach. I explored the possibility of putting before the Senate a bill that included elements of both two committee bills. Earlier this week, I used Senate Rule 14 to place two bills on the calendar.
“The first — S. 2440 — consists of Titles I and III of the Intelligence bill, but did not include Title II on retroactive immunity. The second bill — S. 2441 — consists of Title I of the Intelligence bill and Titles II and III of the Judiciary bill. But after consulting further with Chairman Rockefeller and Chairman Leahy, a consensus emerged among the three of us that the best way to proceed would be by regular order. Both Chairmen agreed with this approach.
“Under regular order, and the rules of the Senate governing sequential referral, I will move to proceed to S. 2248 — the bill reported by each committee. When that motion to proceed is adopted, the work of both committees will be before the Senate. Because of the order in which they considered the bill, the Intelligence Committee version will be the base text, and the Judiciary Committee version will be automatically pending as a substitute amendment.
“In the weeks since the two committees acted, Senators Rockefeller and Leahy have been working hard to narrow the difference between their two versions of the bill. The ranking Republicans, Senators Bond and Specter, have been included in many of these conversations. I expect that when we begin debate on the bill, there will be amendments to incorporate many of the Judiciary Committee provisions into the Intelligence Committee text.
“In my view, that will make the final product stronger. There is one issue that cannot be resolved through informal negotiation. As some are aware, the Intelligence Committee’s bill provides the telephone companies with retroactive immunity from lawsuits filed by their customers for privacy violations. Many members, myself included, believe that such a grant of immunity is unwise. I expect there will be a full debate on this subject next week.
“Senators Specter, Feinstein, Whitehouse and others are working to craft a compromise that might give the phone companies some relief — but allow the lawsuits to go forward in a manner that would preserve accountability. In one way or another, we must ensure that President Bush is held accountable for his actions. It is important for the Senate to complete work on this bill next week to allow time for the Senate and House to produce a final bill. Our ultimate goal is a bill that commands broad bipartisan support in the Congress and in the country. The process I just outlined offers us the best opportunity to do so.”
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30 Responses to “Reid to bring Intel committee FISA bill to floor Monday.”
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Our own Senators are Conning us. They’re selling out to the telecoms. They’re clearly trying to sneak this through.
We all know it takes 60 votes to get anything through the Senate. They’re trying to sneak this through with just 50. They know that if this bill achieves cloture, its passage is guaranteed. Leiberman’s vote will likely push this over the top, and if its a tie, Cheney will break it.
Sure, the Democratic Senators will vote against the actual bill, but by allowing cloture. They’ll have their political cover, but they know it will pass. They’re selling out to the telecoms.
Why the hell else would Reid be trying to sneak this through:
A. Late on a Friday evening (take out the trash day)
B. 10 days before Christmas
C. 3 weeks before the Iowa primary?
I can’t blame Reid entirely, I think he is probably under tremendous pressure from his fellow Democratic Senators to get this passed. There would seem to be a lot of Democratic Senators who desperately want this bill to pass, but also want the political cover of voting against it.
Reid has even pulled Senator Dodd’s hold on the bill and is refusing to let him filibuster it next week. If Dodd wants to filibuster, he’s been told he’ll have to do it over the weekend.
I think Hillary, Obama, and Biden are the only people who can stop this now. They’ll have to come back to DC and join in the filibuster. DC is the last place any of them want to be right now, but without them, this bill WILL pass.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:40 pmDefacto immunity promised by bush will only further erode the rule of law in this country and the continued trashing of the constitution and our civil rights. If the Dems cave on this one, they will pay a very heavy price for this decision in 08.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:47 pmThis is the final “sell out” of the promises made to the public by the dems during the midterms if they permit this telecon immunity. Just because one lawbreaker tells them it’s fine to illegally spy on americans doesn’t make it less criminal. They all need to pay for violating the laws of this country and the civil rights of it’s people. They were morons for ever allowing Bush to convince them to do so because NOT ALL telecons asked to break the law did so and stood up to Bush in refusal.
This will be the final straw for the people with the Dems if they permit Reid to sell us all down the river.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:49 pmThe american people will riot if this passes, of this we can be certain.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:50 pmNot to mention that we will then make every conceivable effort to root out the charlatans in Congress (Dems) when their terms expire.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:51 pmTime to clean house(s) in Congress.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:52 pmF_ck off, Harry.
I’m with patooty — let’s hit the streets people.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:25 pmWell immunity worked so well in providing a profesional behavior in Blackwater in Iraq ??????
December 14th, 2007 at 10:28 pmAs the Senate debates the renewal of FISA revisions made in August, President Bush and his Republican allies in Congress are endorsing a unique double-standard when it comes to immunity for telecommunications firms. Within the United States, they argue, service providers such as AT&T and Verizon must cooperate with U.S. government demands for access to Americans’ electronic communications and should be immune from citizens’ lawsuits. But in China and elsewhere, as Republican reaction to the Yahoo saga suggests, not so much.
For the details, see:
December 14th, 2007 at 10:37 pm“FISA, Yahoo and the GOP Double-Standard on Telecom Immunity.”
Well immunity worked so well in providing a profesional behavior in Blackwater in Iraq ??????
Comment by MapleStreet — December 14, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
December 14th, 2007 at 10:41 pmNot to mention the immunity given to Monica Goodling, who told Congress that she took an “oath to the president”.
I’m back Dodd and his filibuster fo the Intel. Comm. Bill. Harry is trying to pull a fast one on us since he can’t put anything over on the Republicans, he believes we are as dumb as he is. Screw that. Hopefully all the Candidates that have promised to back him up know enough to keep their word. This as to be a serious battle for us to win. Write Dodd and send him some support, and write to Clinton, Obama, and Biden to remind them of their promises.
Screw you Harry, this is such a chickenshit move, I’m sorry I ever voted for you and never will again.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:44 pm.
Since when has WARRANTLESS EVER been legal?
I would impress upon the Senate; Prove when warrantless has been legal, then we can discuss about why IMMUNITY FROM the Fourth Amendment might be, or not, legal.
.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:50 pmReid is a traitor. Too bad he is from Utah. Not much chance of getting booted in the primary. Pelosi, on the other hand is from San Francisco…
December 14th, 2007 at 10:54 pmThey have all merged into the Demopubglican Party. We need a second party in this nation.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:02 pmThe congress must understand that further funding the Iraq occupation and granting telecomunication corporations imunity for ilegally spying on americans are issues that people around the globe are following! These actions by the american government are eroding its image even further! Outside the US, the only people that might feel friendly towards you are people inside the Israeli government, and some poor bastard in Kazackstan…
December 14th, 2007 at 11:03 pmWell in 2009 we’ll have to pass legislation recinding anything that is passed now that gives immunity.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:06 pmThe only 2 thing the democrats have done right in the last year have been the passage of a new fisa bill without retroactive immunity and a defence spending bill which tied a disavowal of torture and an immediate draw down of American troops to funding .
December 14th, 2007 at 11:10 pmTonight harry reed and the democratic senate have undone these very small first steps and he and they will pay for it dearly among the progressive community . If the democrats want to stay viable they must do what the American people elected them for and end this unjust illegal and un American war and hold those who have violated our constitution and basic rights responsible .
There’s only one reason why the Bush administration and Congress see it necessary to grant retroactive immunity to the telecoms. They wouldn’t need retroactive immunity if they hadn’t already broken the law.
Bush plays the fool, and Reid plays the spineless wimp. And together they are playing the American public.
December 15th, 2007 at 1:15 amHillary, Obama, and Biden go back to DC and stop this train wreck . . . show your stripes!
Why should any voter believe that you represent a change, a new transparency, the return of the rule of law if you flake on this critical issue. It just may be the domino that causes the entire web of dominos to fall . . . if any of you fails to show and object, that one of you is a hypocrite, tuck your sorry tail and be gone.
Must Americans scream our complaints into our telephones in order to be heard?
December 15th, 2007 at 3:23 am?
NOOOOO!
December 15th, 2007 at 6:32 amContact Harry Reid and let him know how you feel about immunity for companies that were “just following orders”. Be as polite as possible.
Phone: 202-224-3542
December 15th, 2007 at 9:37 amFax: 202-224-7327
Toll Free for Nevadans:
1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343)
If the supposedly Democratic-controlled Senate passes retroactive Amnesty for companies that broke they absolutely forfeit any shreds of respect I had remaining. I hope Harry Reid is never elected to office again.
At least with the Republicans in charge you knew who blame. Reid is, frankly, little more than a traitor to those who voted for him.
December 15th, 2007 at 10:12 amReid has betrayed every Democratic voter repeatedly. My donations now go to the ACLU and not Democratic candidates.
December 15th, 2007 at 11:38 amIf the telecom industry gets imunity for commiting a crime… REVOLUTUION!!!!!!
December 15th, 2007 at 12:05 pmThere’s only one reason why the Bush administration and Congress see it necessary to grant retroactive immunity to the telecoms. They wouldn’t need retroactive immunity if they hadn’t already broken the law.
Bush plays the fool, and Reid plays the spineless wimp. And together they are playing the American public.
Comment by Kane — December 15, 2007
December 15th, 2007 at 12:06 pmWell said!!!!!!!!!
Which party is Harry Reid in anyway. Apparently he is afraid of the Republicans and needs to be replaced a majority leader. This guy has sold us OUT. We need to start a writting and calling campaign to drive him out as Majority Leader of the Democrats as well as Nancy Pelosi. They both need to be replaced with a Senator who isn’t afraid and a Representative who has some guts. If someone will start this I will help by urging my friend and family to call. Lets start on Monday 17 December. Please comment on whether you are game for this or not. I incourage Republicans to help us get rid of these cowards too.
December 15th, 2007 at 12:14 pmTell me again why I should be supporting Democrats?
December 15th, 2007 at 10:45 pmDid anyone read the letter that’s posted after you expand the post?
Comment by justasking — December 15, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
Yes.
Your point?
December 15th, 2007 at 10:48 pmThe text of the amendment says they will be immune for spying after 9/11, but we know they were doing it prior, from the Qwest case. So it may not be as helpful as they think. Plus they have to say they didn’t think it was illegal because the Bush admin said it was OK. In other words, “if the President does it, that means it is not illegal,” thank you very much, Nixon. And that cannot work, I don’t care how many Scalitos and Thomases you have.
I just hope Chris Dodd rolls up his sleeves and declares “now we’ll show you ‘60-vote cloture’ wimps how a real filibuster works!”
December 15th, 2007 at 10:54 pmEach and every revelation have revealed more egregious intrusions into our lives and the potential for data to be gathered to destroy law-abiding folk who just happen to be either business or political rivals of the folks in charge.
Lets not forget that one of the data mining companies was under Giuliani ? Does anyone believe that he would hesitate to use any law-enforement gathered information for a political or business advantage?
And they still haven’t come clean.
ABSOLUTELY NO PROMISES OF AMNESTY BEFORE THEY HAVE COME CLEAN ON THE EXTENT OF THEIR ACTIVITIES !
December 16th, 2007 at 6:39 pm