23 JUN 08 / "House Approves New FISA Bill"

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2008 passed the House by nearly a 3 to 1 margin last week is likely to pass the Senate. The original FISA, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Carter in 1978, was intended to prevent unlawful intelligence gathering as practiced by President Nixon.

The new legislation overhauls the FISA extension that expired in February and stipulates that the president may still authorize the attorney general to wiretap foreign communications for up to one year without the issuance of a warrant provided there is no U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or U.S.-based corporation that would be monitored, in which case a warrant would need to be obtained from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The attorney general is required to certify to the FISA court that all warrantless surveillance was conducted exclusively on foreign targets, and the attorney general will report on compliance to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Republicans supported the legislation because it restores the power of the executive branch to monitor communications of foreigners outside the United States, and most Democrats were convinced it does not violate the privacy rights of American citizens protected under the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. The legislation provides retroactive immunity for telecom companies that complied with the President Bush's warrantless surveillance program, a key requirement for Republicans.

FISA has been the subject of much debate since December 2005, when the New York Times published a story that had been leaked by Senator John Rockefeller about the National Security Agency's 'domestic spying' program. Most Democrats believed President Bush's domestic surveillance program violated the civil liberties of Americans because it was conducted without the issuance of warrants.

The Bush administration might have mitigated the concerns about privacy rights by declaring that the National Security Agency was casting its net for terrorists only, and any information gathered about individuals engaged in unlawful acts could not lead to criminal prosecution; but it's not clear whether such a consideration was offered in the proposed legislation.

Despite the controversies of his administration, President Bush has kept America safe since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.Wiretapping is an important intelligence gathering tool that could prevent future terrorist attacks, and may our only defense against a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction, such as a portable nuclear bomb.