Pete Stark: “I rise today to support the House's changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, Amendments Act. After 8…”

“I rise today to support the House's changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, Amendments Act. After 8 long years of watching Republicans kowtow to the President's tyrannical policies, I am only too happy to stand by a bill that will hold his administration accountable to some of their past actions and prevent future administrations from abusing our civil liberties. Our government was designed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people. But under President Bush, it has been a government of the executive branch, by the executive branch, and for the executive branch. The Administration's so-called ``security measures''--tapping phones, obtaining personal records, and spying without warrants--have undermined basic freedoms and diminished trust in government. It will take a great deal of time to clean up the mess left by this administration. We can take an important step forward today by giving telecommunications companies their day in court and establishing strict restrictions to prevent the government from spying whenever and on whomever it pleases. By voting for this bill, we make it clear that we won't let the President make a quick escape from Washington without bringing his transgressions to light. Rather than hide behind the threat of terrorism to justify illegal activities, as past Congresses have done, we will defend the constitutional rights of our constituents.”