Jay Rockefeller: “I am going to talk a little about the FISA amendment and the protection of civil liberties of Americans. Some people who…”

“I am going to talk a little about the FISA amendment and the protection of civil liberties of Americans. Some people who are concerned about this bill don't recognize that there have been enormous changes made that specifically speak to civil liberties, and so I would like to talk about that. I wish to take the time to explain how the negotiators of the FISA bill have taken great care in protecting the constitutional right of privacy of American citizens in crafting this agreement, which was a heavily discussed and worked over matter. The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 includes strong protections of civil liberties of Americans while still allowing the Government to collect the foreign intelligence it needs to protect the country, literally. Maintaining this balance between civil liberties for Americans and protecting our Nation against foreign attack was obviously my utmost priority, as well as Senator Bond's, during the lengthy negotiation process that produced what I think is historic legislation in modernizing FISA for the first time in 30 years.”