[Infowarrior] - House passes bill banning illegal govt eavesdropping

[Richard Forno]

(though one wonders if it's illegal already why the need to ban it? -rf)

Bill bans illegal govt eavesdropping
http://pressesc.com/01178899253_bill_bans_eavedropping_NSA

The US house of representatives today passed a bill outlawing illegal
domestic wiretapping by the government.

An amendment to the House Intelligence Reauthorization Bill by
Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) states that the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) shall be the exclusive
means by which domestic electronic surveillance for the purpose of gathering
foreign intelligence information may be conducted, and makes clear that this
applies until specific statutory authorization for electronic surveillance,
other than as an amendment to FISA, is enacted.

"Congress has signaled that it will not allow the president to continue the
National Security Agency¹s illegal eavesdropping," said Caroline
Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU¹s Washington Legislative Office. "Passage
of the Schiff/Flake amendment is Congress drawing a line in the sand. This
amendment reaffirms that FISA is the law and it needs to be followed."

Congress originally passed FISA to provide the exclusive authority for the
wiretapping of people in the United States in foreign intelligence
investigations to protect national security.

As the Senate Report noted, FISA "was designed . . . to curb the practice by
which the Executive Branch may conduct warrantless electronic surveillance
on its own unilateral determination that national security justifies it."

The Bill ends plans by the Bush Administration that would give the NSA the
freedom to pry into the lives of ordinary Americans.

The ACLU noted that, despite many recent hearings about "modernization" and
"technology neutrality," the administration has not publicly provided
Congress with a single example of how current FISA standards have either
prevented the intelligence community from using new technologies, or proven
unworkable for the agents tasked with following them.

"We applaud Congressmen Schiff and Flake for their work to uphold the rule
of law," said Michelle Richardson, ACLU Legislative Consultant. "Today is
the first move towards Congress growing a backbone. We hope that the Senate
will follow their lead and not be swayed by the administration and
Department of Justice¹s unconstitutional attempts to eviscerate FISA."