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U.S. Senator Richard Durbin |
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For
Immediate Release |
CONTACTS: Zach Lowe (Feingold) – (202) 224-8657 Joe Shoemaker (Durbin) – (202) 224-7028 Drew Nannis (Salazar) – (202) 228-3630 |
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SENATORS OBJECT TO WIRETAPPING
DEAL WITH WHITE HOUSE
“Democrats support wiretapping terrorists, and common sense reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) deserve consideration. But Senator Specter’s bill simply goes too far -- it attempts to legalize the President’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program, guts the FISA statute and abdicates Congress’s role as a check on the Executive branch. “Sadly, today's so-called compromise does not change any of these troublesome excesses. “Despite claims to the contrary, the bill would still allow warrantless spying on Americans on American soil by authorizing so-called “program” warrants and making review by the FISA court optional. And while language was deleted regarding the President's authority as Commander in Chief, the bill would still delete the provision of FISA that makes it the “exclusive means” for wiretapping. Ultimately, the legislation would still ratify an unlawful surveillance program. “While we appreciate
our colleagues’ efforts, we still have grave concerns about the bill.
Fighting terrorism effectively and protecting the privacy of innocent
Americans are too important to be debated during a brief floor period
before an election.” # # # |
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