The Senate is expected to vote today on HR 6304, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act (FISA) of 2008. The legislation has passed in the House, and is expected to move through the Senate and to President Bush.

Common Cause strongly opposes granting retroactive telecom immunity which this bill will provide. Several Senators including Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis), and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) have also been in strong opposition to the bill.

Cross-posted from The Hill Blog.

The rewrite of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 recently passed by the House (H.R. 6304) deals with some of the Bush Administration's more Constitutionally challenged activities. Recognizing the role of the Judicial Branch, for instance, is a good idea. The Administration's claim that Congress' authorization of force after 9/11 somehow implicitly allowed the White House to operate a wiretapping program in this country outside the court system has always stretched credulity.

Unfortunately, though, the Democrats caved to the White House by giving the telecom companies a get-out-of-jail-free card for handing over private information about American citizens to government agents. I think most Americans would consider having their phone conversations secretly recorded and handed over to the government an example of unreasonable search and seizure. If this legislation is signed into law, all of the Americans who sued these telecom companies in protest will never have their day in court. As there are no Senators willing to stop this bill, we expect that chamber to also pass it.

From a broader perspective, this bill amounts to a legislative affirmation of the Bush White House's systematic disregard for our civil rights and our Constitution. This Administration has illegally used warrentless wiretapping to spy on Americans.  It has suspended habeas corpus.  It has engaged in illegal torture.  Through signing statements, the President has declared publicly he will not comply with aspects of laws he finds disagreeable.

I think the Bush White House believes it is above the law. It has made a practice of ignoring the courts and Congress in the name of national security. It is time for Congress to start acting like a co-equal branch of government and start asserting its Constitutionally mandated role of overseeing the Executive Branch.

You have to give Pelosi some credit. One of my colleagues commented that she must have been eating spinach.

The House is NOT going to take up the Senate passed version of the new domestic surveillence bill which grants telecom companies immunity. The House Dems tried to extend the current law to make time to go into conference and resolve the differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions of the bill before time ran out, but that got shot down. The main difference between the bills is the question of legal immunity for telecommunications companies that handed over personal information to the feds without a warrant, which violates civil and criminal law.

President Bush, of course, has said that if the House doesn't shut up and pass the Senate version of the bill (and grant the telecos immunity from all the lawsuits that have sprung up as a result) it will imperil every red-blooded American. Sweeping immunity for some telecom companies that knowingly broke the law IS THAT IMPORTANT. Both the House and Senate bills give the government expanded authority to snoop - but this isn't about that, is it?

But it looks like Pelosi is going to call the bluff and let the bill expire while they fight it out over immunity. Kudos.