[Infowarrior] - HPSCI Chair open to GOP FISA Proposal

[Richard Forno]

House Chairman Open To Republican Compromise On FISA

Wed. Jun 4, 2008

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/cda_20080604_2346.php

The House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat disclosed late Tuesday  
that he is ready to accept a Republican-brokered deal to rewrite the  
nation's electronic surveillance laws, signaling that a long-running  
congressional impasse could soon be coming to an end.

House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes told CongressDaily that he  
is "fine" with language offered by Senate Intelligence ranking member  
Christopher (Kit) Bond and other Republicans to overhaul the Foreign  
Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Notably, the GOP language, which was offered a day before the recent  
congressional recess, would leave it up to the secret FISA court to  
grant retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies that  
have helped the Bush administration conduct electronic surveillance on  
the communications of U.S. citizens without warrants.

About 40 civil lawsuits already have been filed against the companies.  
The administration, Bond and other Republicans had backed a Senate- 
passed FISA bill that would have shielded the telecom firms from the  
lawsuits upon enactment.

"It's about finding middle ground and we have middle ground," Reyes  
said of the compromise offered by Republicans. "It's not going to  
please everyone but let's get on with it."

Reyes said he believes enough Democrats will support the proposal to  
pass it in the House.

But he said House Majority Leader Hoyer told him that House Democratic  
leaders want to have the liability of the telecoms reviewed in federal  
district court as opposed to the FISA court.

A senior Reyes aide clarified his boss' positions by saying that while  
Reyes thinks Bond's proposal is a positive one, he remains supportive  
of Hoyer's efforts to improve on it.

A FISA reform bill passed by the House earlier this year would have  
had the cases heard in district court.

Efforts to obtain comment from Hoyer's office were unsuccessful at  
presstime and Reyes' assertion that the GOP language would pass the  
House could not be confirmed.

Public interest groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have  
criticized the GOP language on the immunity issue, saying it does not  
empower the FISA court to determine if the administration or the  
telecom firms broke the law. They say the court review would be too  
limited to give plantiffs in the lawsuits a fair hearing.

On another issue, the proposed GOP compromise would require the  
administration to submit its procedures and certifications to the FISA  
court for review before surveillance could begin, except in exigent  
circumstances. This would apply to wiretaps involving the  
communications of a U.S. citizen inside the United States.

Republicans also have said they will accept, for the most part,  
language from House Democrats making FISA the exclusive means for  
conducting wiretaps to collect foreign intelligence. House Speaker  
Pelosi has said that having such language in a final FISA bill is her  
top priority.

And Republicans have agreed to accept a Democratic demand that the  
inspectors general of the intelligence agencies conduct audits of the  
terrorist surveillance program.

The House-passed FISA bill included a provision that would have  
established an independent commission to investigate the  
administration's warrantless wiretapping activities.

"We knew we weren't going to get everything, but we need to get this  
done," Reyes said.

by Chris Strohm