Washington, DC – Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, today issued the following statement following passage of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.  Woolsey opposed the measure.

“This proposal is a wholesale sellout of our Constitution.  Today’s vote provides de facto immunity for telecommunications companies that broke the law and ensures that an Administration that knowingly broke the law will never be held accountable.  By weakening judicial oversight, this proposal allows the President to conduct widespread surveillance of innocent Americans, turning our legal system into little more than a rubber stamp for the White House.  Elected officials have a solemn responsibility to defend our country, and, like my colleagues, I support a modernization of our intelligence laws.  However, I cannot support actions that, under the guise of strengthening our national security, sacrifice individual civil liberties."