House Approves Wiretap Bill
That’s the title of this AP article, written by former Washington Post writer Charles Babington. The good news is that the bill now goes to President Bush, who will sign it into law. The bad news is that 183 representatives voted against it.
The administration said the measure is needed to speed the National Security Agency’s ability to intercept phone calls, e-mails and other communications involving foreign nationals “reasonably believed to be outside the United States.” Civil liberties groups and many Democrats said it goes too far, possibly enabling the government to wiretap U.S. residents communicating with overseas parties without adequate oversight from courts or Congress.
The bill updates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA. It gives the government leeway to intercept, without warrants, communications between foreigners that are routed through equipment in United States, provided that “foreign intelligence information” is at stake. Bush describes the effort as an anti-terrorist program, but the bill is not limited to terror suspects and could have wider applications, some lawmakers said.
The government long has had substantial powers to intercept purely foreign communications that don’t touch U.S. soil.
This is great news for Americans because it’s good news for the NSA. According to this Reuters article, the legislation gives the Bush administration the authority it was seeking:
The measure would authorize the National Security Agency to intercept without a court order communications between people in the United States and foreign targets overseas.
President Bush has been calling on congress to pass this bill before the House left for their August recess. Late Saturday night, they gave President Bush what he’s been asking for. Here are the representatives who voted against giving President Bush the tools to intercept terrorists’ communications:
NAYS 183: Abercrombie, Ackerman, Allen, Andrews, Arcuri, Baca, Baird, Baldwin, Berkley, Berman, Berry, Bishop (GA), Bishop (NY), Blumenauer, Boucher, Boyda (KS), Brady (PA), Braley (IA), Brown, Corrine, Butterfield, Capps, Capuano, Cardoza, Carnahan, Carson, Castor, Cleaver, Clyburn, Cohen, Conyers, Costello, Courtney, Crowley, Cummings, Davis (CA), Davis (IL), DeFazio, DeGette, DeLauro, Dicks, Dingell, Doggett, Doyle, Ellison, Emanuel, Engel, Eshoo, Farr, Fattah, Filner, Frank (MA), Giffords, Gillibrand, Gonzalez, Green, Al, Green, Gene, Grijalva, Gutierrez, Hall(NY), Hare, Harman, Hastings (FL), Hinchey, Hirono, Hodes, Holden, Holt, Honda, Hooley, Hoyer, Inslee, Israel, Jackson (IL), Jackson-Lee (TX), Jefferson, Johnson(GA), Johnson (IL), Johnson, E. B., Jones (NC), Jones (OH), Kagen, Kanjorski, Kaptur, Kennedy, Kildee, Kind, Kucinich, Langevin, Larsen (WA), Larson (CT), Lee, Levin, Lewis (GA), Loebsack, Lofgren, Zoe, Lowey, Lynch, Mahoney (FL), Maloney (NY), Markey, Matsui, McCarthy (NY), McCollum (MN), McDermott, McGovern, McNerney, McNulty, Meek (FL), Meeks (NY), Michaud, Miller (NC), Miller, George, Mollohan, Moore (KS), Moore (WI), Moran (VA), Murphy (CT), Murphy, Patrick, Murtha, Nadler, Napolitano, Neal (MA), Oberstar, Obey, Olver, Ortiz, Pallone, Pascrell, Pastor, Payne, Pelosi, Perlmutter, Price (NC), Rahall, Rangel, Reyes, Rothman, Roybal-Allard, Ruppersberger, Rush, Ryan (OH), Sánchez, Linda T., Sanchez, Loretta, Sarbanes, Schakowsky, Schiff, Schwartz, Scott (GA), Scott (VA), Serrano, Sestak, Shea-Porter, Sherman, Sires, Slaughter, Smith (WA), Solis, Spratt, Stark, Stupak, Sutton, Tauscher, Thompson (CA), Thompson (MS), Tierney, Towns, Udall (CO), Udall (NM), Van Hollen, Velázquez, Visclosky, Wasserman Schultz, Waters, Watson, Watt, Waxman, Weiner, Welch (VT), Wexler, Woolsey, Wu, Wynn, Yarmuth.
Republicans voting against are in italicized print.
These are people who didn’t make our nation’s safety their top priority. That’s inexcusable at any time but it’s especially inexcusable when intel might prevent another terrorist attack, whether that’s a terrorist attack here in the United States or whether it’s a terrorist in Iraq.
Technorati Tags: President Bush, Reforms, FISA, House Of Representatives, National Security, Election 2008, NSA
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
August 5th, 2007 at 12:41 am
House OKs Bush Eavesdropping Bill…
The House handed President Bush a victory today, voting to expand the government’s abilities to eave…
August 5th, 2007 at 12:47 am
[...] Original post by Gary Gross and software by Elliott Back [...]
August 5th, 2007 at 1:18 am
Wow, this site definitely does not report news; it presents biased, slanted, opinionated facts. You not-so-subtly berate the congresspersons who did not want to continue giving Bushs administration unlimited powers. I would normally have no problem with that except for the fact that Bush and his close circle have repeatedly lied to the Nation, the people, and to the world. He has pushed the balance of branches too far into the executive branch.
August 5th, 2007 at 4:29 am
Terrorist, Terrorist anti government is the best. You try to drop bombs but you food is raw, Terrorist, Terrorist.
Radioactive fallout from Depleted Uranium 235, sounds so lethal, makes me want to cry. How many people must die?
Genetic Engineering, Peace and Unity, when will we kill each other in genocide, tomorrow or never.
Pain, Humility, Suffering, Demise, I know I can feel it, in your eyes.
When will we stop, the hatred inside, never when they exist, Terrorist, Terrorist.
August 5th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Many people entering the country are searched without the need for a warrant.
Why would warrantless wiretapping of foreign communications be unconstitutional, but warrantless searches of people entering the country be perfectly constitutional?
August 5th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Michael,
The answer is simple. BDS.
August 5th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
I can hardly wait to see your “outrage” when the shoe is on the other foot; perhaps, when some republican’s home is raided without so much as a hint of judicial revue. ‘Course, that will be blamed on the nearest Democrat, since they wimped out and wanted vacation more than serving their constituencies.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:31 am
I knew this post would bring out the best of the (moon)beamers. They never disappoint, they’re so predictable.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:01 am
I’ll get serious in a moment, but first, some slogans: just to show that I’m thoughtful and relevant.
Floss after every meal!
Keep America Beautiful!
Don’t drink and drive!
Seriously, now:
I’m almost as scared of the members of Congress who seem to think that American law enforcement is more dangerous than terrorists, as I am of the terrorists themselves.
I grew up in the sixties and seventies, and remember how cool it was to defy authority and, like, demonstrate against things that needed demonstrating against.
But I realize that this isn’t the sixties anymore.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:14 am
When the politicians start treating the enemy as the enemy and the citizens as partners in this, the war against terrorism will be won, but not before.
The liberals hate and psychopathic distrust of the military and law enforcement is going to bite them in the ass one day.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:14 am
The problem is that, when the liberal’s attitude toward the military and law enforcement bites them, it’s likely to bite innocent bystanders, too.
I am very concerned that so many in Congress don’t seem to understand that terrorism is a very real, physical, threat: not a Berkeley classroom exercise in political science.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
But you see that’s where 3/4ths of these clowns are, they are either stuck with their heads in Berkely on the 1960’s, or have had brains heads filled leftist crap by them in college.