I’ll be back — The Terminator
Two House panels approved an anti-terrorist wiretap bill that lacks liability protection for telecom carriers, setting up a showdown with the Bush administration, reports RCR News.
“Americans are willing to make sacrifices to meet true national security imperatives, but they should not give up their rights unnecessarily, just to allow one political party to score points,” said Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “This bill … successfully provides the national security tools needed to go after terrorists and protects vital rights of Americans. The bill’s opponents know this, but find it more convenient to pretend otherwise.”
President Bush seems likely veto the measure unless the legislation contains provisions to get carriers off the hook for liability.
“Businesses that break the law should be held accountable. We expect these companies to keep our personal information private, and if they break the law, there should be consequences—not a re-write of the rule book,” said Caroline Frederickson, federal legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Meantime, the House Intelligence Committee also passed the RESTORE (Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed and Effective) measure.
“We’ve put the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) … back in business after President Bush and Vice President Cheney secretly put it out of business six years ago,” said Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. “This bill gives strong tools to our intelligence professionals while upholding constitutional protections for all Americans.”
That bill is now headed for a vote on the House floor. Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) has been pushing a competing bill with even more privacy safeguards.
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