Tom Udall: “for the past several months, Congress has debated one of the most important issues that we face: the struggle to protect…”

“for the past several months, Congress has debated one of the most important issues that we face: the struggle to protect America while preserving the guaranteed liberties that make America great. During this vital discussion, some argued that Congress should stop deliberating and pass a reckless proposal that would unnecessarily sacrifice our constitutional rights. I disagreed. The legislation we discuss today, which was the product of deep deliberation and compromise, will keep America both safe and free. It is a credit to this House and to the American people. Today's legislation contains a number of carefully crafted provisions intended to protect the civil liberties of Americans at home and abroad while ensuring that the intelligence community can do its job. The wisest decision the House made in this bill was to grant telecommunications companies an opportunity to defend themselves in a confidential FISA court trial. This is in stark contrast to the administration's attempt to provide retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that may have violated the law. The Bush administration claims that the telecommunications companies have evidence that would exonerate them but cannot be revealed in court because of confidentiality concerns. Our bill ensures that the American people will get their day in court and the companies will have the chance to defend their actions.”