November 13, 2006
Urge Your Senators not to Legalize Domestic Warrantless Wiretapping or to Immunize Telecoms
First, we at the BORDC congratulate all of you who brought the national debate over post-9/11 laws and policies that threaten freedoms and human rights to your communities. The education and debate nationwide made well-informed voters immune to politicians’ claims that members of Congress who were willing to stand up for our freedoms were supporting the terrorists. Thanks to you, next January, Congress will be a much safer place for supporting and restoring Constitutional protections and for investigating government wrongdoing. We look forward to working with you toward winning back those protections with Congressional help.
But right now, we need your help. The “lame-duck” Congress returns to Washington on Monday, 11/13, and President Bush has urged them to pass a bill legalizing the NSA warrantless domestic wiretapping program. Meanwhile, the telecom companies that cooperated with warrantless NSA requests are pressuring members of Congress to immunize them from liability for their actions. There is a chance that some members will try to slip a very broad immunity clause into an omnibus spending bill. Such a clause, if it is passed, would hamper future investigations of the wiretapping program.
Don’t let that happen! Our best opportunity to stop either a bill or an immunity clause is in the Senate. (The House passed New Mexico Representative Heather Wilson’s FISA “Modernization” Act, H.R. 5825 before the campaign recess.)
Call both your Senators today or tomorrow (Monday, November 13th or Tuesday, November 14). Look up their phone numbers here.
Talking Points: Tell the person who answers that you are a constituent who is very concerned about the NSA warrantless wiretapping bill, and that you are calling to urge Senator _____ to:
- Block any bill related to the NSA domestic warrantless wiretapping program. Without a real investigation of the program is complete, Congress has no business passing legislation to legalize it.
- Oppose immunity for the telecoms. It would be a severe impediment to a real investigation, and it sends a message to businesses that they can disobey laws if the government asks them to, and can expect the government to bail them out.
- Prevent a telecom immunity clause from being slipped into another bill, such as an omnibus spending package. Insist on a clean bill.
More Talking Points are available here: http://www.bordc.org/involved/talkpoints11-13.php
We will inform you of any movement on bills to legalize domestic warrantless wiretapping or of any immunity clause that may be slipped into a bill. But your quick action right now will assure the lame duck Congress that the people are watching for any signs that Congress may amend FISA or take other action to legalize the warrantless domestic wiretapping program.
More information on the Frist-Specter bill (S. 3931) and the Wilson bill (H.R. 5825) passed by the House is available on BORDC’s legislation page: http://bordc.org/threats/legislation.