FISA: Telecom immunity okay

The Senate passed the update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that grants immunity to telecom companies from lawsuits with a 69-28 vote.

Before the vote, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said, in his opening statement, that 40 lawsuits are being litigated. Retroactive immunity should be given to phone companies, Specter said. There is a way to protect the phone companies without giving up the details of their programs, Specter said.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that it is time to hold the government accountable and let the Supreme Court review the bill. Sen. Leahy said he supports the amendments presented by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). This administration is not above the law, Sen. Leahy said.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who wanted to strike lawsuit immunity, said that the administration has been doing warrantless wiretapping for too long. “Five years is too much.” Dodd said that it is a matter of balancing national security with constitutional rights, and when any government makes citizens give up their rights for national security, it is wrong. The government should have the tools to stop terrorism, but it must stay balanced with the rights of its citizens, Dodd said.

Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) said the Senate Committee on Intelligence oversees the use of wiretapping to make sure it does not violate citizens’ rights. But Senate intelligence briefings do have to stop at a certain point, Bond said, or otherwise too much will be revealed. The telephone companies are being “good patriotic Americans” and should be protected.