http://cdt.org/

Groups Oppose Passage of New Surveillance Bill

A new bill that would weaken intelligence oversight should not pass in the few remaining days of the 109th Congress, a coalition of groups said Monday. CDT joined with several other public interest groups in urging Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) to end his effort to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Oversight and Resource Enhancement Act of 2006 (S. 4051). Instead of pushing for rushed passage of a legislation that could undercut the security and privacy of innocent Americans, the groups urged Specter to work with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to more fully address the issues relating to warrantless domestic spying when the new Congress convenes next year. November 22, 2006

Joint Letter [PDF] November 21, 2006: http://www.cdt.org/security/20061121specter.pdf

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It's important to make sure neither of these bills fly - a legislated (written into law) reduction of the amount and effectiveness of over-sight requirements prior to the new legislative session starting next year would be totally disasterous at this point, virtually killing any chance to get things turned back around.

I've sent the following FAX to both my Senators and to my Representative:

"Vote “No!” on both S.4051 and H.R. 5825!

S.4051 ( the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Oversight and Resource Enhancement Act of 2006 ) appears to cut back severely the existing intelligence oversight provisions in the National Security Act.

We do not NEED or WANT this.

H.R. 5825 ( the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act ) is even worse – it would
eviscerate FISA’s warrant requirements and authorizes a warrantless domestic wiretapping program far broader and more intrusive on the privacy of American citizens than the one the Administration has already described!

I – and others – will be watching the way you vote on these two bills very closely indeed – and I’ll be basing whom I vote for in the next election entirely on how you vote on these two bills and similar privacy-invasion/un-warranted government interference legislation.

And I promise to do everything in my power – online, in my local newspaper, speaking to my friends, neighbors, co-workers and voting-age children to have them do the same.

Thank you.

Signed,"

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Feel free to go to http://www.theorator.com/senate.html & http://www.theorator.com/government/house.html , get the FAX and/or phone number of your Reps and contact them with your feelings on these two pieces of legislation (you're welcome to c&p mine, if you like). Pete

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=541&page=UserAction