Amendments to FISA revision squashed, bill to pass this afternoon

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Amy Weiss

The debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act continued on the Senate floor Wednesday and all three proposed amendments that would eliminate or make conditional the telecom immunity were defeated.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) warned that if this bill passes today, "I'm confident history will not judge this Congress kindly."

Feingold also emphasized that the majority of Congress has not been fully briefed on the President's wiretapping program. Because of the classification of detailed documents, only a few Senators, including himself, have been permitted to read about the program.

"If more information is declassified in the future...," he said, "members of this body will regret that we passed this legislation."

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) thanked the blogosphere, Internet petitioners, and concerned citizens for their leadership against the bill. He said the notion that we have to sacrifice liberty for security is a "fundamentally flawed idea," that Americans have regretted every time they've chosen it, referencing the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII.

Dodd also said he is certain that this matter will not end even if the bill passes today, and that the constitutionality of granting immunity to the telecommunications companies will be challenged in the courts in the future.

Dodd, Feingold, and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) sponsored an amendment to completely strike Article 2 of the bill, which gives retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies. The amendment was defeated with 32 senators voting for it, and 66 voting against it.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), the ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also offered an amendment requiring the district courts to review the constitutionality of the president's surveillance program. He warned that the bill is asking the Senate to do two dangerous things. It asks the Senate to vote on something it does not understand and to "fly in the face" of Marbury v. Madison, the 1803 Supreme Court decision that established judicial review.

He said, "We are dealing with a matter of historical importance ... I believe historians will look back on this period from 9/11 ... as the greatest expansion of executive power," but also said he is "prepared to stomach this bill if I must, but ... I do not believe it is too late to make this bill better." Specter's amendment was defeated 37-61.

The final amendment, proposed by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), which would require a stay on over 40 pending court cases and an investigation before granting retroactive immunity, was defeated by a vote of 42-56.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), who has endured criticism for changing his position to support FISA, voted for all three amendments but indicated he will still support the final bill. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is campaigning in Ohio today and was not present for the votes. The final vote will take place this afternoon after the Republican Party's weekly lunch and is expected to pass.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT