ACLU: NSA Legislation Since the Leaks Began

[ProSense]

NSA Legislation Since the Leaks Began

By Michelle Richardson

Since the Guardian published the FISA Court order mandating Verizon Business Network Services hand over all its customers' phone records to the National Security Agency in early June, Congress has responded with bill after bill to rein in the NSA's surveillance programs, increase transparency, and reform how the secret FISA Court is staffed and operates.

Currently there are 19 bills pending in Congress with more expected to be introduced. The legislation can be broken down into four broad categories: 1) substantive reforms to the laws the NSA believes allow it to conduct its surveillance programs, 2) disclosure of the FISA Court opinions that determined the programs were legal, 3) general reporting of the number and types of surveillance orders received by recipients and how many users affected, and 4) reforms to the FISA Court.

(For more on NSA surveillance, click here.)

With the recent narrow defeat of the Amash Amendment to defund the bulk phone records' collection program, and more disclosures coming, Congress is more engaged on the issue of the government's suspicionless collection and surveillance of Americans' communications than it ever has been over the last decade. The ACLU will continue to work with Congress to stop the government's spying on innocent people as well as force disclosure about how these programs are used and the secret court rulings that support them. (This list will be updated as events dictate.)

- more -

http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/nsa-legislation-leaks-began

List and links at the original.

Here are some of the bills:

Conyers-Amash (51)
H.R.2399: LIBERT-E Act
To prevent the mass collection of records of innocent Americans under section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as amended by section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, and to provide for greater accountability and transparency in the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.

Leahy (11)
S.1215: FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2013
The FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2013
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023135750

Udall-Wyden (9)
S.1182: A bill to modify the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to require specific evidence for access to business records and other tangible things, and provide appropriate transition procedures, and for other purposes.

Sanders (1)
S.1168: Restore Our Privacy Act
To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to limit overbroad surveillance requests and expand reporting requirements and for other purposes.

Holt (1)
H.R.2818: To repeal the USA PATRIOT Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, and for other purposes.

Merkley-Lee (15)
S.1130: Ending Secret Law Act
To require the Attorney General to disclose each decision, order, or opinion of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that includes significant legal interpretation of section 501 or 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 unless such disclosure is not in the national security interest of the United States and for other purposes.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022993363

Franken (11)
S.1452: Surveillance Transparency Act of 2013
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023451810

[RC]

1. Whatever happened to the NSA does not collect information (spy) on Americans and does not monitor

the content of phone calls, or does not hoover up our E-mails without a warrant? Or the meta data doesn't matter, therefore it is legal?

Each and every time the NSA denies doing something, it has come to pass they are doing exactly that.
How many time has it come to pass that a law had to be passed to make a action legal that the NSA was doing illegally?

And still people defend the NSA as somehow a good thing and is perfectly legal and on the up and up, as being needed to know what our enemies are doing. It is turning out the whole world is their enemy, including us, US.

[ProSense]

2. I don't think some people are actually interested in reforms.

I think they want this to be all about outrage and no change.

Which of the reforms in the OP do you support?

[RC]

8. Reform the NSA out of existence.

Not once have they preformed what they say is their prime directive. Not 9/11, not the Pennsylvania sniper, not the anthrax mailer, not the Oklahoma city bombing, not the Boston pressure cooker bombing, not anything.

[ProSense]

12. Like I said, it's about outrage, not reform. n/t

[RC]

15. And I said reform it out of existence.

The outrage must come first and it already has. The reform is coming.
The NSA servers no legitimate purpose. Its real purpose is to collect information on American Citizens and foreign leaders, for the purpose of black mail and control.

[ProSense]

17. You keep waiting for that day.

The people interested reforms will push for the proposals in the OP.

[RC]

22. The ball has just started rolling.

Don't base your bets on what happens up front.

[Union Scribe]

10. In other words "forget this embarrassing u-turn I'm doing"

[ProSense]

13. That's just you trying to make yourself feel good. I did not "u-turn." n/t

[ljm2002]

3. So...

...none of these bills would have been proposed if it had not been for Snowden's leaks:

Since the Guardian published the FISA Court order mandating Verizon Business Network Services hand over all its customers' phone records to the National Security Agency in early June, Congress has responded with bill after bill to rein in the NSA's surveillance programs, increase transparency, and reform how the secret FISA Court is staffed and operates.

How about that.

[ProSense]

4. Some of these are bills reintroduced from last Congress.

Leahy, Udall and Wyden proposed their bills previously.

[ljm2002]

5. So 2 of the 7 you listed...

...were reintroduced. That means 5 of those you listed are due to Snowden's revelations.

Credit where credit is due.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. It's funny that two becomes "some", isn't it?

Obfuscation has now become an art form.

[ljm2002]

16. Obfuscation as art form...

...is a tried and true technique. It's nothing new.

We are certainly getting lessons here on DU these days.

[ProSense]

20. Yeah, look around. n/t

[ljm2002]

21. No shit. n/t

[ProSense]

24. Yeah, I mean

I'm sure the ACLU put this list together because they had nothing better to do.

It's pretty clear that for some, reform isn't the goal.

[ProSense]

7. It shows that reforms were in the works. n/t

[Union Scribe]

11. I must have missed your threads on them from last time. nt

[OnyxCollie]

9. None of these "reforms" involve substantial fines and jail time

for those who have already violated the law.

Keep looking forward.

[ProSense]

14. What the hell are you talking about? n/t

[OnyxCollie]

18. If Obama had kept his promise about filibustering the FISA amendments in 2008,

fines and jail time would have been handed out to the telecoms and executive branch.

These reforms wouldn't be necessary.

But Obama and Rahm couldn't pass up all those campaign contributions from AT&T.

At least someone is holding Obama's feet to the fire. He can't be trusted without supervision.

[ProSense]

19. Yeah, right

Wishing will change things.

[OnyxCollie]

23. Just as effective as hoping for change.

In 2007, Obama was going to filibuster any bill that gave retroactive immunity to the telecoms that helped the Bush administration illegally spy on US citizens.

Obama's wiretapping flip-flop? Yes
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jul/14/obamas-wiretapping-flip-flop-yes/

In October 2007, Obama spokesman Bill Burton issued this unequivocal statement to the liberal blog TPM Election Central: "To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."

...

But Obama knows how to drive a hard bargain, making he (and Rahm) the top recipients in the Senate and House of 2008 campaign contributions from AT&T employees and PAC.

Obama: $270,191
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000076&party=D&chamber=S&type=P&cycle=2008

Rahm: $50,650
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000076&chamber=H&party=D&cycle=2008&state=&sort=A

...

Obama supported an amendment that would have stripped telecom immunity from the measure. But after that amendment failed, Obama declined to filibuster the bill. In fact, he voted for it. It passed the Senate, 69-28, on July 9. The House passed the same bill last month, and Bush said he would sign it soon. (McCain missed the vote because he was campaigning in Ohio, but he has consistently supported the immunity plan.)

In a message to supporters, Obama defended his position, citing a phrase Democrats fought to include that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is the "exclusive" means of wiretapping for intelligence. The bill "is far better than the Protect America Act that I voted against last year... (because it) makes it clear to any president or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court."

...

That's the rubber stamp FISA court, hand-picked by John Roberts...

[ProSense]

25. Gee, thanks for that. I think people knew that before he was elected the first time. Now what? n/t

[OnyxCollie]

26. People did not know that before he was elected the first time.

There was too much cheering from the flacks that it was "chess," and that the Republicans had been deprived of a vulnerability to attack.

We'll Fix It Later!

[HooptieWagon]

27. Obama has that 180 deg chess thing down pat.

Explains why there's little change. He sold out to the highest bidders.

[ProSense]

28. Yeah, because you're wishing, everyone else was clueless before 2008. n/t