| Eric's Position on Domestic Surveillance |
On August 5th of 2007, President Bush signed into law the Protect America Act of 2007, a bill which was designed to rewrite the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. This bill became a necessity for the Republican Leadership following the revelation that President Bush had enacted the National Security Association (NSA) to illegally spy on American citizens without a warrant and without going before a secret FISA Court.
When we look at specific details of the original FISA bill in 1978, the Government did what was necessary to protect Americans from terrorist attacks while maintaining the Fourth Amendment which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure. FISA 1978 required the government to secure a warrant from secret FISA courts to wiretap anyone within the United States, however in the case of an "emergency," they could commence surveillance before obtaining a warrant. However, the follow on requirement was that enforcement agencies would then have to return within 72 hours to present their case to a secret FISA court to receive approval and continue surveillance. Since 1978, these retroactive requests have only been denied a handful of times -- and most agreed that the system worked. I believe that this was a fair and safe way to walk the line between protecting American citizens and the rights guaranteed to all of us by the Bill of Rights.
In this post 9/11 world, our standards have been dangerously loosened however. In February of 2006, President Bush announced that the NSA was actively engaged in breaking the law by illegally spying on Americans without gaining the legal authority to do so. In a stunning move in September of 2006, the Congress moved to pass the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act which essentially gave a rubber stamp of approval on the ongoing warrantless wiretapping the NSA was conducting. Then in August of 2007, the Congress approved the Protect America Act of 2007 which expanded the previous ruling, allowing the White House to eavesdrop on Americans without any court approval whatsoever.
Had I been in Congress during the109th and 110th sessions, I would have opposed both of these bills and when I am elected, I will actively oppose ANY assaults on our Fourth Amendment. When I was in the Navy, I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and I did not surrender that promise when I retired. |
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