WASHINGTON – Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette (D-CO) today opposed H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which passed on a vote of 293 to 129. Below is Congresswoman DeGette’s statement:

“While H.R. 6304 is an improvement over our previous efforts, it still prevents the American public’s ability to hold telecommunications companies accountable for participating in the Federal Government's domestic warrantless surveillance program. Courts still have no real power to review the Administration's prior orders for surveillance activities.  We may never learn the extent of the violations of Americans' privacy which may have occurred or companies which may have participated.

“Additionally, the strong protections against reverse targeting contained in prior House measures, which I supported, are absent from this bill.  Reverse targeting, which refers to spying on Americans by targeting those abroad with whom they are believed to be communicating, opens a loophole for the Federal Government to violate the privacy of American citizens.”