This appeared in full in this weekend's issue of the Ottawa Herald. We'd like to give it all to our readers as well.
Wiretap program needs oversightTie this together with everyone that has already been said on this blog over the last week. The base ideas in the bill aren't bad...but the Bush Administration and the Republicans in Congress want to violate our civil rights. Courts must maintain their oversight role, and blanket retroactive immunity must not be given- ever.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda,
Community Viewpoint
When America’s political debate breaks down into slogans and shouting matches, our whole country suffers. Just look at the broken debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
If you listen to the heated rhetoric, you might believe that keeping America safe requires shredding our constitutional system of checks and balances. Nothing could be further from the truth.
FISA is a critical 1978 law that authorizes the United States government to wiretap suspected criminals and terrorists residing overseas. Since FISA was enacted three decades ago, the communications tools used by terrorists have evolved dramatically, so Congress is now considering proposals to update FISA to meet modern-day security needs.
One FISA proposal, which I emphatically support, tells the executive branch, “Go wiretap the terrorists. Keep America safe. Then, within 14 days, tell a court what you’re doing and get their approval. Wiretap first, get permission later.”
To my mind, “wiretap first, get permission later” makes perfect sense. It gives the executive branch the power it needs to fight terrorism, and at the same time, it preserves the checks and balances our Constitution guarantees. It ensures that the U.S. intelligence community has every tool it needs to fight terrorists. And, by providing judicial oversight, it ensures the privacy of Americans who travel overseas for business or pleasure. It is simply wrong to wiretap Americans without a warrant.
Very unfortunately, the president has drawn a line in the sand. He has sworn to veto any FISA bill that includes court oversight. Instead, he wants the executive branch to oversee itself; he wants all FISA programs to fall under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence.
That is a flagrant violation of checks and balances, and what’s more, it won’t help America fight terrorism more effectively. The FISA court is extremely generous with its warrants. Through 2004, the court had granted 18,761 wiretap requests. It had rejected only five.
So why isn’t this an open-and-shut discussion? Why doesn’t Congress just tell the White House to read the Constitution? Most importantly, why would any member of Congress willingly shred the protections promised by our Founding Fathers?
Because some folks in Washington are terrified of 30-second attack ads saying they’re “soft on terror.” In the face of that communications nightmare, some politicians lose their nerve. They trade our national values for a better shot at re-election.
And that’s what’s so scary. Soundbyte politics works. And it will keep working unless we demand better.
Please know that, as your representative in Congress, I will vote for a strong FISA bill that protects America while preserving our historic system of checks and balances.
Defending America is our nation’s number one priority. There’s just no reason to throw out the Constitution to do it.
What does this all come down to? We know we aren't less after, we know the Republicans and the President are trying to scare people into action again. And we know brave members of the House like Nancy Boyda are standing up to it this time.
