Bond Questions House Democrats' Foreign Surveillance Proposal

Statement

Bond Questions House Democrats' Foreign Surveillance Proposal

Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Kit Bond, today said the House Democrats' proposal to revise U.S. intelligence surveillance law would restrict terror fighters. The House Democrats' proposed changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) impede the ability of law enforcement and intelligence operators to discover terror plans and prevent U.S. attacks, distract the attention of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) charged with protecting U.S. citizens by requiring the Court to approve surveillance of foreign targets, and ignore standing recommendations to improve the surveillance approval process.

"America remains under serious threat of attack by al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. Despite a very real terror threat, the House Democrats' proposal hand-cuffs our terror fighters trying to protect American families at home and troops overseas," said Bond.

Earlier this year, the ability of the United States to conduct critical surveillance of foreign terrorists planning to conduct attacks inside the United States was impaired significantly because of the outdated FISA law. U.S. law was not keeping up with modern technology and the ever-changing tactics of terrorists bent on our destruction.

Under the leadership of Senator Bond, Congress passed the Protect America Act in August to address the Intelligence Community's ability to close critical intelligence gaps. That legislation expires soon and a permanent solution is needed. In response, today the House Democrats unveiled their proposal to revise intelligence surveillance law - the RESTORE Act - which Bond says threatens our Intelligence Community's ability to track terrorists.

The Democratic proposal would require prior-court approval to acquire the foreign communications of foreign targets overseas. This requirement would limit severely our law enforcement and intelligence operators. Bond also reminded House Democrats that the judges of the FISC should not have to spend so much of their time and caseload on applications that focus on foreign targets and do not involve privacy interests of Americans.

In addition to weakening our ability to collect intelligence on foreign terrorists and spies, the Democratic proposal ignores the issue of carrier liability. U.S. carriers aiding in the war against terror should not face legal liability for fulfilling their patriotic duty. Bond emphasized that retrospective carrier liability is necessary not only to protect the companies that may have cooperated in good faith, but to ensure our nation's secrets regarding methods of surveillance remain classified and are not disclosed in public through civil court cases.

Bond praised his colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee for making progress on a comprehensive and bipartisan bill that, unlike the flawed House Democratic proposal, will continue to close critical intelligence gaps while protecting civil liberties of ordinary Americans.

"Today's terrorists take full advantage of technology to stay one step ahead of law enforcement and intelligence services. It is critical that we pass permanent legislation that allows us to capture timely foreign intelligence about terrorists plotting to attack our homeland," said Bond.

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