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Thursday, January 24, 2008

ACLU condemns Senate action on spy bill

By Rebecca Carr | Thursday, January 24, 2008, 04:58 PM

The American Civil Liberties Union is in an uphill fight to block further action on legislation that would update the nation’s surveillance laws and grant telephone companies immunity for participating in President Bush’s secret terrorist surveillance program following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Senate voted 60 to 34 today to reject a bill from the Senate Judiciary Committee that would not offer the telecom industry legal cover for participating in the president’s surveillance program. The program is controversial because the National Security Agency eavesdropped on e-mails and telephone calls in America for several years without a court warrant as is required by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The bill now under consideration, passed the Senate Intelligence Committee, would grant the industry protection from the nearly three dozen lawsuits pending around the country alleging that telephone customers civil rights were violated when when the telephone companies shared information with the NSA without a court warrant.

That measure would permit eavesdropping without a warrant for up to one year. The measure also permits “surveillance sweeps” of communications. 

The Judiciary Committee’s bill would have provided stronger protections for Americans’ privacy and sought greater judicial oversight of warrantless wiretapping, said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

“It appears the Senate is buckling under pressure from the White House,” Fredrickson said. The Judiciary Committee’s alternative bill included vastly improved privacy protections for Americans over both the Intelligence Committee bill and the Protect America Act, a bill that allowed the president’s program for a limited time, she said.

“Under Democratic leadership, the Senate will now continue its debate on surveillance with a bill that resembles something from the administration’s playbook,” Fredrickson said. “Six months after being hoodwinked into passing the Protect America Act, Americans are still waiting for Congress to grow a spine.”

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Leahy and Cornyn oppose White House moving FOIA ombudsman

By Rebecca Carr | Thursday, January 24, 2008, 11:41 AM

Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, oppose the administration moving funding for an ombudsman to oversee disputes over the Freedom of Information Act from the National Archives and Records Administration.

That was a centerpiece of the legislation sponsored by Cornyn and Leahy that President Bush signed into law last month after it overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate. The law called for funding the Office of Government Information Services at the National Archives so that it would provide independent oversight of requests for government records made under the act.

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“Such a move is not only contrary to the express intent of the Congress, but it is also contrary to the very purpose of this legislation — to ensure the timely and fair resolution of American’s FOIA requests,” Leahy said in a little-noticed floor speech on Wednesday.

Given its “abysmal record on FOIA compliance” over the past seven years, Leahy said he hoped the administration would reconsider its “unsound” decision on grounds it goes against what Congress intended.

Sean Kevelighan, press secretary at the Office of Management and Budget, responded on behalf of the White House to the criticism by saying that the final budget has not been released. “Until then, it would be premature to speculate as to what might be in the final product.”

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The Open Government Act placed the ombudsman at the National Archives because of criticism leveled at the Justice Department for failing to address chronic backlogs of requests for information from the public and the media.

Brian Walsh, communications director for Cornyn, said the senator is opposed to moving the funding to Justice. “The senator is in agreement with Senator Leahy on this matter and will oppose this effort by the administration,” Walsh said.

The Cornyn-Leahy measure was the first major overhaul of FOIA in over a decade. Open government advocates like Pete Weitzel, head of the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, strongly oppose moving the funding, estimated to be about $6 million.

“The idea of shifting to Justice is ludicrous,” Weitzel said. “Justice has a clear conflict of interest.”

The Justice Department represents federal agencies in disputes with FOIA requesters. The ombudsman is supposed to be an independent, impartial mediator, Weitzel said.

“The moving of funds for OGIS to DOJ is the exact opposite of what advocates of reform hoped for and the law intends,” said Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.org, an umbrella organization of groups concerned about the growth in government secrecy.

“This apparent move by the White House seems to signal their unwillingness to change the process by which the public can settle disputes by agencies and make FOIA more effective as a tool for accountability,” McDermott said. “It is deeply disappointing.”

Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, said the administration’s move is an affront to Congress.

“Congress doesn’t make recommendations-it writes laws,” Blum said. “The money should follow the law. That means putting money into the Archives, not Justice.”  

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