Protect America Act Expired! Keep the Pressure On!

Thank you for your calls urging House members to protect our Fourth Amendment by letting the Protect America Act expire. Last Thursday, many House members heard your voices and did just that. The Protect America Act, which gave the administration unchecked power to monitor Americans' phone calls and emails, expired at midnight last Friday, Feb 15.

We must build on the momentum of this victory! Call your representative and both of your senators during the current recess. Find out if they're holding public meetings, and gather allies to attend with you. After Congress returns to Washington on Feb 25, they will vote on a compromise now being worked out between the Senate-passed FISA Amendments Act and the House-passed REFORM Act. And you can be sure the White House will keep trying to frighten and mislead the American people and Congress about its warrantless wiretapping program.

But don't let them drown out the truth about government surveillance! During the remaining week of Congress's recess, thank those members of Congress who refused to surrender to the administration, and urge all members to preserve Americans' Fourth Amendment rights and to serve as a check on executive branch spying.

Check these voting records to see who deserves your thanks:

Thank your senators who voted on February 12 against S. 2248, the FISA Amendments Act. See how they voted.
Thank your representative if he or she voted in August against S. 1927, the Protect America Act.
But if your representative voted "no" on the PAA, and is among four of the 21 Democrats who is urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to grant immunity to telecoms, he needs your urging in the opposite direction! (The four are: Marion Berry; D-AR, Joe Baca, D-CA; Tim Holden, D-PA; and Dennis Moore D-KS) See letter.

Look up Washington, DC, office phone numbers for both your senators and your representative, or visit their websites to find their district office phone numbers. You may also call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 (available 24 hours) and ask the operator to connect you.

Key points to make during your call or congressional meeting:

Vote NO on the FISA Amendments Act that the Senate passed on February 12. The RESTORE Act passed by the House in November offers stronger protections of Americans' Fourth Amendment rights.
Vote NO on immunity for telecommunications companies. Allow the lawsuits to proceed so we can learn in open court what laws the administration violated and how Americans' privacy has been compromised. Private business already has immunity in good-faith situations; they shouldn't be given immunity for breaking the law. The House-passed RESTORE Act does not grant immunity.
Vote NO for any bill that allows wiretapping on Americans without the warrants that the Fourth Amendment specifically requires for government searches.
Insist on quarterly audits of the program by the Department of Justice's Inspector General, which the House-passed RESTORE Act would provide.
Make it clear that FISA must be the exclusive means for wiretapping in the US. The president is not above the law.

If unchecked surveillance powers will keep us safe from terrorists, why is the president instead placing such a high emphasis on telecom immunity, to the point of allowing the Protect America Act to expire? Telecoms can still be compelled to help the government when provided a legal warrant. No, the president's focus on telecoms reveals that his chief concern is keeping himself and the telecoms safe from scrutiny. Terrorism is being used as a scare tactic to hide the president's and the telecoms' crimes.

Keep in mind the words of the Fourth Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized."

We must keep reminding our elected officials of our Bill of Rights, and the oath they swore to defend the Constitution!

Thank you for all you do.

Bill of Rights Defense Committee