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| Wilson Welcomes Ongoing Focus on FISA Legislation |
September 08, 2006 |
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| Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson, chair of the House Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, today welcomed a continued focus on important legislation she authored to update the outdated Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act.
The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), today held a hearing on the need to update and reform FISA, and addressed legislative proposals. The Subcommittee is part of the House Judiciary Committee, which shares jurisdiction over Wilson’s legislation with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
In late July, Wilson testified before a hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that the 1978 FISA law should be updated.
“Intelligence is the first line of defense in the war on terror,” Wilson said. “These are very powerful tools that we use to keep our country safe. Excesses are best prevented by when intelligence activities are operated within a framework that controls government power by using checks and balances among the three branches of government.
“This bill will modernize our electronic surveillance laws for the twenty-first century. It will set a standard to allow electronic surveillance of people in the United States when there is a reasonable belief that they are communicating with terrorist organizations, and it will clarify the roles of the three branches of government in overseeing electronic surveillance.”
Wilson, along with Reps. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, introduced the bill on July 18, 2006.
The Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act will:
Strengthen oversight of the executive branch and enhance accountability by requiring that more information be provided to the courts and each member of the House and Senate Intelligence committees receive information concerning electronic surveillance,
Modernize and simplify the process of getting a FISA warrant so that we focus resources on protecting civil liberties of Americans,
Update the FISA law to take into account changes in twenty-first century communications so that our intelligence agencies can use their powerful tools to spy on terrorists while protecting the privacy of Americans,
Provide clear authority to our intelligence agencies in the event of a terrorist attack or an armed attack on the Unites States, along with more stringent accountability to ensure American privacy is protected, and
Remove several outdated limitations in current law that hamper the ability of our intelligence agencies to keep Americans safe and have provided unintentional protection for terrorists and their affiliates. |
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