Leaving the door open to disallow immunity for Telecoms who gave up phone records to the Federal government without a search warrant, Senators Clinton anfd Obama will return to D.C. to vote "nay" on cloture.
The rest is from About.Com
The Senate has scheduled a cloture vote Monday afternoon at 4.30 EST over FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) legislation that would provide immunity for telecom firms. This current impasse highlights the age-old tension between individual liberty and government surveillance.
FISA was enacted almost 30 years ago in reaction to government abuses of electronic surveillance for national security purposes, and most American voters (63%) still believe that the government should have to get a warrant before tapping conversations of US citizens. Moreover, about 6-in-10 "reject immunity for phone companies that may have violated the law by selling customers’ private information to the government, preferring to let courts decide the outcome of any cases." (pdf / tip).
The three Democrats who serve on both Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees -- Russ Feingold (WI), Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) -- voted Friday on the losing side of a test that foreshadows Monday's filibuster vote.
No comments:
Post a Comment