|
June 28, 2010
Haytham Faraj Farajh@gmail.com Dearborn, Michigan 48124-2216
Dear Haytham:
Thank you for contacting me regarding government surveillance authority. I appreciate hearing from you.
As
you may know, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
(FISA) was enacted in 1976. It created
a statutory framework through which the government could obtain important intelligence information
through foreign electronic surveillance without compromising the protection of Americans' civil liberties.
Under FISA, the U.S. Department
of Justice may obtain permission to engage in electronic surveillance if it receives a court order from
the
The
FISA Amendments Act of 2008 contained a compromise agreement that allows the government
to conduct surveillance operations targeting foreign nationals within the
Another law that provided the executive branch sweeping surveillance authority is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act) enacted in 2001 by the then Republican-controlled Congress in response to the September 11 attacks. The bill was amended and reauthorized in 2006. Since enactment, the USA PATRIOT Act has come under intense scrutiny from activists and organizations from all over the political spectrum.
The USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Act of 2006 made permanent fourteen of the sixteen USA PATRIOT Act sections. Among other changes, it provided greater congressional and judicial oversight of roving wiretaps, expanded the list of offenses in which law enforcement may obtain wiretap orders, revised criminal penalties and procedures, required high-level authorization of orders for citizens' library records, and allowed the Attorney General to determine whether a state qualifies for expedited habeas corpus procedures for state death row inmates.
On February 27, 2010, President Obama signed H.R. 3961 into Public Law 111-141. This legislation extended through February 28, 2011 two expiring USA PATRIOT Act sections and a FISA provision ?"? the "lone wolf" amendment ?"? which allows the government to conduct surveillance of non-U.S. persons who have no known ties to a foreign government or terrorist group. Amendments requiring tighter constraints and greater oversight on the government's authority to spy on Americans and seize their records were thrown out due to the threat of a Republican filibuster in the Senate.
I voted against the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001, its reauthorization in 2006, and its most recent extension in 2010. It infringes upon Americans' constitutional rights without proper legislative and judicial oversight. Additionally, recent revelations regarding the abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) by the FBI to obtain Americans' private information underscore the dangers of giving law enforcement officials unchecked powers. Without adequate safeguards for civil liberties and privacy rights, the federal government will destroy the very freedoms it seeks to protect.
As you may know, on October 20, 2009, Representative John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, introduced H.R. 3845, the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act. If passed, this legislation would reauthorize certain expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act while making modifications to several overly-broad surveillance authorities in order to protect Americans' constitutional rights, while preserving our government's power to fight terrorism. Most notably, the legislation will reform the NSL system by requiring the government to present concrete facts showing that the information is connected to a terrorist or foreign agent before issuing an NSL. The legislation would also increase congressional supervision of the executive's surveillance operations by including new reporting, audit, and oversight provisions, and would allow the FISA "lone wolf" provision to expire.
On November 5, 2009, the House Committee on the Judiciary passed H.R. 3845 by a vote of 16 to 10, but it is unlikely this bill will reach the House floor for a vote this year. You may rest assured that I will continue to seek a balance that protects Americans' civil liberties while allowing the government to remain vigilant against terrorism and national security threats.
Again, thank you for being in touch. For news on current federal legislative issues, please visit my website at www.house.gov/dingell; you can also sign up there to receive my e-newsletter. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me again if I may be of assistance with this or any other matter of concern.
With every good wish,
Sincerely yours, John D. DingellMember of Congress |