Madam Speaker,  I rise in support of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.  As a member of the Intelligence Committee, I know we must give our intelligence community the proper tools to protect us while upholding the civil liberties of Americans.  Today’s compromise illustrates what this House can do when it deliberates with care, holds steady against fear-mongering, and acts in the best interest of the country and its citizens. 

This bill is strong on civil liberties, and includes protections against infringement of our Constitutional right to privacy. 

First, the bill clarifies that FISA is the exclusive means by which the Executive Branch may conduct electronic surveillance on U.S. soil.  No President will have the power do an end-run around the legal requirements of FISA.  This provision will prevent the types of abuses we have witnessed under this Administration. 

Second, this Act requires a warrant from the FISA court to conduct surveillance of Americans abroad.  Americans will no longer leave their Constitutional protections at home when working, studying, or traveling abroad. 

Third, it requires prior approval by the FISA court of procedures the government will use when carrying out foreign electronic surveillance.  This will ensure that the Government’s efforts are not aimed at targeting Americans, and that, if an American’s communication is inadvertently intercepted, it is dealt with in a manner that guarantees legal protections. 

One issue that has been repeatedly addressed is whether telecommunications companies should be granted immunity against pending lawsuits for their involvement in the earlier surveillance program.  For a long period of time, the Bush Administration stonewalled and did not provide Congress the documents we demanded to ascertain the role that the telecommunications companies played.  Since then, I have reviewed a large number of classified documents on this matter, and I am deeply concerned about the manner in which the Bush Administration conducted its surveillance program.  Therefore, I am pleased that this legislation preserves a role for the U.S. court system, which will review the documents produced by the White House and other relevant documents to decide independently whether the telecommunications companies acted in good faith when cooperating with the government.  Only after that review would the courts decide whether the telecommunications companies deserve any form of liability protection.  Furthermore, the legislation authorizes a joint investigation by the Inspectors General from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Security Agency, Department of Defense, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence to review the past actions of the U.S. government and report to Congress on their findings so that we may take appropriate action.

Many today have said that the legislation before us is not a perfect bill, and I agree.  Nevertheless, it is significantly better than the bill passed by the Senate and an immense improvement over the Bush Administration’s program, neither of which took sufficient steps to protect Americans’ civil liberties.  I know that the Democratic leadership negotiated a good compromise, and I will support it.  However, as I have said before, this legislation will only work if everyone involved follows the rules and remains within the confines of the law.  Congress must continue to conduct robust oversight to make sure the law is implemented as intended to maintain the critical and fragile balance of protecting our nation and protecting civil liberties.