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ask.heather@mail.house.gov

In Washington DC
442 Cannon House
Office Building
Washington, DC
20515
202-225-6316 Phone
202-225-4975 Fax
In Albuquerque
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM
87102
505-346-6781 Phone
505-346-6723 Fax

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Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico


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Statement on DNI`s April 13, 2007 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Proposal April 13, 2007
 
Congresswoman Heather Wilson

Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence

Statement on DNI`s April 13, 2007 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Proposal


“I have not received the actual proposed text and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a statute where the details matter. Congress should carefully review the ideas put forward by the DNI and pass a law modernizing FISA.

“The administration announced in January that it was bringing the President`s Terrorist Surveillance Program under the supervision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. These court orders were unprecedented. From the point of view of how the FISA law is written and has been implemented in the past, these new orders pulled a twin sheet over a king size bed. Our intelligence agencies need clear rules of the road for electronic surveillance.

“Several of the concepts described by Director of National Intelligence McConnell in his summary released today are similar to the legislation I introduced with Chairman Sensenbrenner and Chairman Hoekstra in the 109th Congress. Our bill passed the House but not the Senate before the last Congress adjourned. Some of Director McConnell`s proposals -- like expanding the definition of "foreign power" to encompass anyone who might be proliferating weapons of mass destruction as well as other foreigners who may possess significant intelligence information -- are new ideas that will need careful review.

“While not included in the legislation I introduced in the past, I am open to proposals that would protect communications carriers from liability when they comply with lawful FISA requests. It`s unfair to put telephone companies in the position of being required to comply with a FISA warrant while leaving them vulnerable to lawsuits if they do comply.

“It is not clear from the summary released by the Director of National Intelligence whether his draft includes the checks and balances that were the centerpiece of the House-passed bill. Electronic surveillance is a very powerful tool that we use to keep our country safe. Excesses are best prevented when intelligence activities are operated within a framework that controls government power by using checks and balances among the three branches of government. These checks and balances among the branches are particularly important if FISA procedures are ‘streamlined,’ as the DNI proposes to do.

“We listen to our enemies. Our intelligence community must be able to gather information to protect us, and react rapidly to threats. At the same time, we must ensure that the liberties of Americans are protected. With well-crafted legislation, we can do both.

“I will work with Director McConnell and my colleagues on the Intelligence Committee to achieve this end.”

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