The "Protect America Act"
Suggested talking points against unchecked government surveillance that bypasses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA):
- We have seen from the FBI's abuses of its warrantless national security letter power that warrantless searches lead to abuses. There should be no warrantless wiretapping of Americans. Checks and balances are necessary.
- President Bush and others continuously mislead the public by stressing that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was written in 1978, and it fails to mention that it has been updated dozens of times in order to give the impression that it is outdated. Congress needs to be informed of what the President has been doing to circumvent FISA requirements that were designed to protect Americans' privacy.
- Congress needs to complete its investigation of the administration's warrantless wiretapping program, or programs, and force the administration to reveal documents the Justice Department prepared at the onset of the program. (See Center for Democracy & Technology's Most Wanted Surveillance Documents and Most Wanted Surveillance Answers.)
- The administration has not complied with congressional subpoenas seeking critical information about the program. It's too soon to pass legislation involving that program.
- Other than reiterating that foreign-to-foreign communications are not subject to FISA, Congress should not take any action in the short time remaining before recess. Acting in haste risks a permanent negative impact on Americans' hard-won privacy rights. If the administration has any suspicions about potential terrorist attacks, FISA allows wiretapping for several days before approaching FISA for a warrant.