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| Wilson, House Republicans Force Democrats to Change Course on FISA Bill |
October 18, 2007 |
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Democrats pull bill from floor after lack of support
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Heather Wilson along with other House Republicans thwarted the Democrats’ effort to pass flawed reform of FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act), with the Democrats forced to end further debate on the bill after they could not come up with the necessary votes to ensure the bill’s passage.
It is unclear as to when this bill will be considered.
“Speaker Pelosi underestimated the intelligence of the American people and the bipartisan majority in the Congress to understand what matters most – preventing another terrorist attack,” said Wilson. “Congress should make permanent the changes that were enacted in August in the Protect America Act.”
Wilson opposes H.R. 3773, The RESTORE Act, a reform of the FISA legislation that would critically impair efforts by the Intelligence Community to collect intelligence in foreign countries related to the foreign affairs of the United States.
“The Democrat bill restores the ability of terrorists to plot to kill Americans,” said Wilson.
“The Democrat bill limits the types of intelligence that can be collected. The bill requires a warrant to collect foreign intelligence in foreign countries related to the foreign affairs of the United States. That means we need a warrant to collect intelligence on human rights in Burma or narco-trafficking in Columbia, or political links between Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Castro in Cuba. This would be an unprecedented expansion of the court’s involvement, limiting foreign intelligence collection.”
In August, temporary changes were made to FISA to close gaps in the law that allowed terrorists to communicate without detection. The Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, requested Congress address this issue before the August recess.
On August 4, 2007, the House passed the Protect America Act, a bill previously agreed to in the Senate to allow U.S. intelligence agencies to listen to foreign persons in foreign countries. The law continued to require a warrant to target a person in the United States. This legislation was only a temporary fix, with the anticipation that a bill would be introduced this fall to address this issue with more permanency.
Wilson has been at the forefront of this issue since the determination was made that gaps in the law were leaving Americans vulnerable to a terrorist attack. Wilson believes that the Protect America Act balances the need to protect the civil liberties of U.S. citizens with the need to protect our citizens from attack and should be made permanent.
“By long established court precedent, you don’t need a warrant to listen to foreigners in foreign countries who are plotting to kill Americans.”
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