The JUSTICE Act: a chance to get FISA right.
If there’s one thing all Americans should be able to agree upon, its our right to privacy and a large, bi-partisan coalition has formed to pressure the Senate to pass the Justice Act.
Senator Russ Feingold and nine other senators have introduced S. 1686, the JUSTICE Act to reform our surveillance laws, including the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. The JUSTICE Act reins in the government’s spying powers by (from the ACLU):
- Protecting First Amendment rights.
- Protecting the privacy of records.
- Protecting the privacy of communications.
- Protecting the privacy of homes and businesses.
- Targeting terror prosecutions on those who intend to help terrorists.
- Holding companies responsible for conspiring with the government to break the law.
For more detail on the JUSTICE Act, visit the EFF, the ACLU, Senator Feingold’s JUSTICE Act announcement and fact sheet, and the act text.
Now is the best chance yet to fix the PATRIOT Act and reform FISA
This Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the Leahy PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill is the best chance yet for significant reform. As well as limiting the use of sneak-and-peak warrants and National Security Letters, it bars “bulk collection” under FISA and holds telecom companies accountable for past abuses. A broad coalition including the EFF, the ACLU, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the American Library Association and many other organizations support Senator Feingold’s JUSTICE Act, a comprehensive package of reforms. The key question for Thursday is how many will be added to Leahy’s more limited bill.
Over the next two days, we need to pressure Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to add provisions from the JUSTICE Act during markup — and on Senators to sign on as co-sponsors to the JUSTICE Act. There are side-by-side comparisons two bills available from Julian Sanchez on Cato@Liberty, and Marcy Wheeler on Emptywheel, and Center for Democracy and Technology. The ALA’s action alert has some crisp talking points.
Now is the best chance yet to fix the PATRIOT Act and reform FISA
- Sign the CREDO petition.
- Email your Senators.
- Call your Senators. Ensign: (877) 894-7711 and Reid: (866) 736-7343
- Please join us online Thursday for activism and discussion during the hearing: http://bit.ly/oct1hearing
Similar Posts:
- SB372 Nevada Clean Air Act Hearing Wednesday
- Honor Senator Kennedy: Pass Health Care Reform
- Harry Says “Psych!” to Frist on Immigration
Enjoy this post? Leave a comment below or subscribe to my feed. You also can sign up for email delivery by clicking here.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
[...] of hours is our best chance to influence the Senate legislation for significant reforms — Tracy Viselli’s post on Reno and its Discontents and Jessica Pielko’s on Care2 have background. We’re [...]
Comments
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Twitter Comment
RT @LisaMaatz: RT @myrnatheminx: The JUSTICE Act: a chance to get FISA right. [link to post] #patriotact #privacy
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Twitter Comment
RT: @seasonothebitch: RT @myrnatheminx: The JUSTICE Act: a chance to get FISA right. [link to post] #patriotact #justice #p2
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Twitter Comment
RT @myrnatheminx: The JUSTICE Act: a chance to get FISA right. [link to post] #patriotact #privacy
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Twitter Comment
RT@myrnatheminx: The JUSTICE Act: a chance to get FISA right. [link to post] #patriotact
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Twitter Comment
RT @myrnatheminx: The JUSTICE Act: a chance to get FISA right. [link to post] #patriotact
– Posted using Chat Catcher