Mark Udall: “I support this measure for two reasons. First, I will support it because, as I have consistently said, I do think the…”

“I support this measure for two reasons. First, I will support it because, as I have consistently said, I do think the basic law in this area--the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA--needs to be updated to respond to changes in technology, which was the purpose of the current, temporary law. That is why, last August, I voted for a bill (H.R. 3356) to provide such an update--a bill that was supported by a majority of the House, but did not pass because it was considered under a procedure that required a two-thirds vote for passage, which did not occur because of the opposition of the Bush Administration, which was supported by all but 3 of our Republican colleagues. That is also why I voted for another bill to update FISA--H.R. 3773, the ``Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective'' (or RESTORE) Act--which the House passed on November 15th of last year. Second, I will support it because I think it is distinctly better than the version the Senate passed--as an amendment to the House-passed RESTORE Act--on February 12th.”