U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., made an attempt today to convince his colleagues to withhold immunity from telecommunications companies until a report on their activity from the Inspector General is released, but his proposed amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act bill failed.
“We are talking about a program that was not conducted in accordance with the law, and from what we do know, may have violated the constitutional rights of innocent Americans,” Bingaman said in a news release following today’s vote. “I believe the only reasonable thing to do was to keep these suits from being dismissed until at least we have a complete picture of what actions we are shielding from liability.”
Bingaman voted against the bill after his and other attempts to amend the bill failed. The vote on his amendment was 42-56, with Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., joining the majority in opposing it. The bill was approved by a vote of 69-28.
“The necessity to provide for our nation’s safety and security should be balanced with our approach to American civil rights. I believe this legislation will give our intelligence community the tools it needs to pursue foreign enemies and address some of the concerns raised by those who don’t like this necessary law,” Domenici said in a news release.
The bill, which was already approved by the House and has the backing of the president, restored the authority of the FISA court on wiretapping and other surveillance of American citizens that requires warrants. That authority expired earlier this year as Congress debated whether to grant immunity to telecommunications companies that apparently helped the Bush administration spy on citizens without warrants after the 9/11 terrorists attacks. Several companies were facing lawsuits as a result of their alleged involvement.
U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, who was instrumental in the House compromise on the bill, said in a news release that today’s Senate vote “will close a critical intelligence gap.”
“This legislation will help give our intelligence agencies the tools they need to protect us, while protecting the civil liberties of Americans,”