Bill of Rights Defense Campaign

BILL OF RIGHTS Defense Committee - Working with communities to uphold the Bill of RightsWe the People
Working with communities to uphold the Bill of Rights
BORDC RSS Newsfeed  Add to Del.icio.us  Recommend on Digg  Recommend on Reddit  Share on Furl  

Threats to Liberties

Current Threats
Court Cases

110th Congress

Proposed Legislation

If you would like to contact members of Congress on any of the matters listed below, you may find their contact information here.

Legislation Addressing National Security Letters

National Security Letters Reform Act of 2007
Bill Number: H.R. 3189
Status: Introduced on July 26, 2007 by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8th). Referred to House Judiciary Committee and House Financial Services Committee.
List of Co-sponsors

The purpose of Representative Nadler's bill is to establish procedural protections for the use of National Security Letters (NSLs). Here are some of the higlights:

  • The bill raises the standard for the FBI to obtain NSLs, to include "specific and articulable facts" giving reason to believe that the information or records sought pertain to a foreign power or agent of a foreign power.
  • An NSL may not be used in connection with a U.S. person based solely on First Amendment activities.
  • An NSL must provide information to the recipient about their rights to judicial review, and procedures for seeking a judge's perusal of the NSL.
  • Within 20 days of receiving the NSL, the recipient may file in U.S. district court, an appeal to modify or set aside the NSL.
  • The bill requires that all information retrieved about innocent people must be destroyed.
  • Semi-annually, the FBI must report to Congress 1) the number of NSLs issued in previous 6 months, 2) a summary of challenges made by recipients, 3) a description of how NSLs have aided investigations and prosecutions.
  • FBI field supervisors are still able to issue NSLs.

Read Rep. Nadler's press release on H.R. 3189.
Watch statement by Rep. Nadler at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, following the Inspector General's report revealing widespread FBI abuses and misuses of National Security Letters.
Find BORDC's video, FBI Unbound: How National Security Letters Violate Our Privacy, and supporting materials.

National Security Letters Reform Act of 2007
Bill Number: S. 2088
Bill Title: A bill to place reasonable limitations on the use of National Security Letters. Status: Introduced on September 25, 2007 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sponsor: Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI)
Co-sponsors

Requiring Judicial Oversight for National Security Letters
Bill Number: H.R. 1739
Bill Title: To require the approval of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge or designated United States Magistrate Judge for the issuance of a national security letter, to require the Attorney General to submit semiannual reports on national security letters
Status: Referred to House Judiciary, House Intelligence and House Financial Services on March 28, 2007.
Sponsor: Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA-36)
List of Co-sponsors

This is the first piece of legislation drafted to address FBI abuses brought to light by a March 9 Inspector General's report, relating to the use of National Security Letters (NSLs). The powers of NSLs was expanded by the 2001 PATRIOT Act, the Intelligence Authorization of 2004, and the PATRIOT Act Reauthorization of 2006. In addition to requiring approval of National Security Letters by a FISA judge or U.S. magistrate judge, H.R. 1739 would also:

  • require the government to show a connection between the records sought with an NSL and a terrorist or foreign power;
  • create an expedited electronic filing system for NSL applications;
  • require the government to destroy information obtained through NSL requests that is no longer needed; and
  • mandate more robust congressional oversight, requiring semi-annual reports to both the Congressional Intelligence and Judiciary Committees on all NSLs issued, minimization procedures, any court challenges and an explanation of how NSLs have helped investigations and prosecutions.

To read Representative Harman's statement on the introduction of the bill, please click here.

Legislation Relating to State Secrets

State Secrets Protection Act
Bill Number: S 2533
Bill Title: A bill to enact a safe, fair, and responsible state secrets privilege Act.
Bill Status: Introduced on January 22, 2008, and referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Sponsor: Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Co-sponsors

The United States government has used its "state secrets privilege" to shut down court cases that it maintains would reveal information that would jeopardize U.S. national security. The precedent for the "state secrets privilege" was set in U.S. vs. Reynolds, a 1953 case in which widows of men killed in a 1948 plane crash sought accident reports on the crash. The U.S. government declared those accident reports could reveal state secrets, and the case was thrown out of court. Today, the accident reports can be easily found, showing there was no sensitive information contained in them, then or now.

Senator Kennedy's bill is an effort to place limits on when the government can claim the state secrets privilege, as a response to the many recent cases in which individuals have tried to expose wrongdoing in the government. Those many efforts have been squashed by the Bush Administration's frequent claims of state secrets privilege. Click here for a complete list of those cases. Here is a partial list:

There is also a new film on this topic, called Secrecy, which " is about the vast, invisible world of government secrecy. By focusing on classified secrets, the government's ability to put information out of sight if it would harm national security, Secrecy explores the tensions between our safety as a nation, and our ability to function as a democracy." The film is produced by filmmakers Peter Galison and Robb Moss.

On February 13, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the state secrets privilege.

Legislation Introduced on Datamining

Federal Agency Data Mining Reporting Act of 2007
Bill Number: S 236
Bill Title: To require reports to Congress on Federal agency use of data mining.
Status: Introduced by Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI), John Sununu (R-NH), Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on January 10, 2007 and referred to the Judiciary Committee. On March 15, the Judiciary Committee considered the bill, and held a mark-up session. Reported out of committee by Senator Leahy on June 4 and placed on Senate calendar. No. 184.
List of Co-sponsors

Additional Information

Legislation Introduced to Curb Executive Power

Resolution recommending that the House of Representatives find Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten, Chief of Staff, White House, in contempt.
Bill Numbers: H.R. 979, H.R. 980 and H.R. 982
Bill Status: All three resolutions were introduced on February 13, 2008. H.R. 979 and 980 were combined into H.R. 982, which passed the House by a vote of 222-32 on February 14, 2008.
Sponsors: H.R. 979 and 980, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14). H.R. 982, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY-28).
Co-sponsors:None.

These resolutions are the culmination of the work the House Judiciary Committee has done to investigate the unprecedented mass firings of U.S. attorneys by the Department of Justice in late 2006. Former White House counsel Harriet Miers was called to testify before Congress on her role in the firings, and she refused to appear. White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten refused to provide documents and emails to the House Judiciary Committee for its investigation.

On February 14, 2008, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 982, which holds Miers and Bolten in contempt of Congress and provides for the Judiciary Committee to intervene to enforce the subpoenas. The enforcement may be needed because Attorney General Mukasey told the Judiciary Committee he would not issue the subpoenas to Miers or Bolten, because they were following orders from the President.

View video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking House members to vote for H.R. 982. Video of other House members' statements can be found by clicking here. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH-8) led a dramatic Republican walkout during debate on the resolution. More news reports about the attorney firings can be found by clicking here.

Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007
Bill Number:In the House -- H.R. 1255
              In the Senate -- S. 886
Status: Introduced on March 9, 2007. Passed the House on March 14, 2007 by a 333-93 vote. Roll Call 143
               In the Senate -- Introduced on March 14, 2007. Assigned to Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Reported out of committee on June 20 by Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) with amendment. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar No. 212.
Sponsor: In the House: Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA-30th)
               In the Senate: Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
List of House Co-sponsors
List of Senate Co-sponsors

This is a bi-partisan measure that repeals Executive Order 13233, issued by President Bush in 2001, which closed presidential records from public view. Ironically, the presidential records of former President George H.W. Bush would have been among the first released in 2001, had his son, George W. Bush not issued the executive order.

Watch video of March 1 hearing of the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives on the Presidential Records Act.

Congressional Lawmaking Authority Protection Act of 2007
Bill Number: H.R. 264
Status: Introduced on January 5, 2007. Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Sponsors: Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18th)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill addresses the arguably overused executive practice of issuing an extraordinary number of signing statements, exerting presidential authority over bills passed Congress. For more information on the effect of recent signing statements, click here.

Reaffirming the Constitutional and Statutory Protections Accorded Sealed Domestic Mail, and for Other Purposes
Bill Number: S. Res 22
Status: Submitted January 10, 2007 and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. On June 13, 2007, it was favorably reported out of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs without amendment.
Sponsor: Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
List of Co-sponsors

Senator Collins' resolution is an effort to clarify a bill she co-sponsored, which passed in the waning days of the 109th Congress (H.R. 6407, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act). In response to President Bush's recent signing statement which asserts the right of the President to open mail without a warrant, Senator Collins said, "I want to be perfectly clear: Nothing in the Postal Reform Act, nor the President’s signing statement alters the privacy and civil liberties protections provided to a person who sends or receives sealed mail. Mail sealed against inspection is entitled to the strongest possible protections against physical searches. With only very limited exceptions, the government needs a court-issued warrant before it can search mail.”"

Additional Information

Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007
Bill Number: S. 214
Status: Introduced on January 9, 2007. Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. On February 12, 2007, it was approved by the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 13-6. On March 20, it passed by a vote of 94-2. Roll Call 81
Became Public Law 110-34 when signed by the President on June 14, 2007.
Sponsor: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill is related to H.R. 580, which was passed by the House 306-114 on May 22, 2007 with Roll Call 397

S 214 and H.R. 580 were written in response to recent firings by the Department of Justice of U.S. attorneys in various parts of the country, replaced by hand-picked Bush loyalists. This recent overhaul of U.S. Attorneys offices' leadership was ushered in by a little known provision in the March 2006 reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act that allows the Attorney General to skirt the Senate confirmation process by making indefinite interim appointments. S 214 seeks to amend U.S. Code to restore Congress' oversight in the appointment of U.S. attorneys.

Read Senator Dianne Feinstein's statement at a March 6 hearing on the fired U.S. Attorneys.

To provide for a 120-day limit to the term of a United States attorney appointed on an interim basis by the Attorney General
Bill Number: H.R. 580
Status: Introduced January 19, 2007. Subcommittee Hearings Held on March 6, 2007. Passed the House on March 26, 2007 by a vote of Roll Call 189. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar
Sponsor: Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA-28th)
List of Co-sponsors

Like S 214, H.R. 580 would alter the PATRIOT Reauthorization Act of 2006 by amending chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to provide for a 120-day limit to the term of a United States attorney appointed on an interim basis by the Attorney General.

Additional Information

Bill to Restore Authority for Invoking Insurrection Act

Bill Numbers:  In the Senate -- S. 513
                      In the House -- H.R. 869
Status:   In the Senate -- Read twice; referred to the Armed Services Committee 2/7/07. Senate Judiciary Hearings held on April 24, 2007.   
             In the House -- Referred to the House Armed Services Committee 2/7/07
Sponsors:  In the Senate -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
                In the House -- Representative Tom Davis (R-VA-11th)
List of Co-sponsors for S. 513
List of Co-sponsors for H.R. 869

This bill is a bi-partisan effort to carve out a troubling piece of the John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007, which gave the President power to command the National Guard. Senator Leahy's bill would restore that command to the governor of each state. A nearly identical bill, H.R. 869 has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Republican Tom Davis from Virginia.

Presidential Signing Statements Act of 2007
Bill Numbers: In the House -- H.R. 3045
                     In the Senate -- S. 1747
Status: In the House: Introduced on July 16, 2007 and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
                    In the Senate: Introduced on June 29, 2007 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sponsor: In the House: Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH-1)
                    In the Senate: Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)
List of House Co-sponsors
List of Senate Co-sponsors

This bill, introduced in identical version in both House and Senate, attempts to prevent Presidential Signing Statements from taking on the force of law, as occasionally used by courts in determining the intent of the law. Congress wants to hold that distinction for itself through this legislation.

Full text is available through the Bill Summary page (above), but here is a quote from the legislation describing its intent: "Much more recently, some courts have begun using presidential signing statements as a source of authority in the interpretation of Acts of Congress. This judicial use of presidential signing statements is inappropriate, because it in effect gives these statements the force of law. As the Supreme Court itself has explained, Article I, section 7, of the Constitution provides a `single, finely wrought and exhaustively considered, procedure' for the making of Federal law. I.N.S. v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919, 951 (1983). Presidential signing statements are not passed by both Houses of Congress pursuant to Article I, section 7, so they are not the supreme law of the land. It is inappropriate, therefore, for courts to rely on presidential signing statements as a source of authority in the interpretation of Acts of Congress."

Legislation to Restore the Bill of Rights

American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007
Bill Number: H.R. 3835
Status: Introduced on October 15, 2007 and referred to the House Judiciary, Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.
Sponsor: Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX-14th)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill straddles the categories of habeas corpus, torture, rendition, secret evidence, signing statements, and protecting journalists who want to publish material received from the legislative or executive branch. It has been endorsed by the and the
The bill would do the following:

  • Repeal the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and re-establish the traditional practice that military commissions may be used to try war crimes in places of active hostility where a rapid trial is necessary to preserve evidence or prevent chaos.
  • Clarifies that no information shall be admitted as evidence if it is obtained from the defendant through the use of torture or coercion.
  • Codifies the FISA process as the means by which foreign intelligence may be obtained.
  • Gives members of the Senate and the House of Representatives standing in court to challenge presidential signing statements that declares the president's intent to disregard certain aspects of a law passed in the U.S. Congress.
  • prohibits kidnapping and extraordinary rendition of prisoners to foreign countries on the president's unilateral determination that the suspect is an enemy combatant.
  • Clarifies that journalists are not to be prevented from publishing information received from the legislative or executive branch unless such publication would cause immediate, direct, and irreparable harm to the United States.
  • Prohibits the use of secret evidence to designate an individual or organization with a United States presence to be a foreign terrorist or foreign terrorist organization.

Legislation to Close Guantánamo Bay

Closure of Guantánamo Bay Detention Facility
Bill Number: S. 1249
Status: Introduced April 30, 2007 and referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Sponsor: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill would require the President to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba within a year of its enactment. All detainees would be relocated to one of these locations:

  • a military or civilian detention facility in the U.S. and tried
  • a military or civilian detention facility without being charged, if held as an enemy combatant
  • an international tribunal under the authority of the United Nations
  • to their country of citizenship or other country for legal process, provided the country assures the U.S. the individual will not be subjected to torture or inhumane or degrading treatment.
  • released from further detention.

Read Bill text.

Read Senator Feinstein's Statement on the introduction of this bill. On the same day this bill was introduced, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case involving two detainees, Omar Khadr and Adel Hamdan, with two justices, John Paul Stevens and Anthony Kennedy saying the two must first exhaust judicial remedies before appealing to the Court.

Guantánamo Bay, Cuba Detention Center Closure Act of 2007

Bill Number: S. 1469
Status: Introduced May 23, 2007, read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Sponsor: Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill requires the closure of the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba starting within 120 days of its enactment. The bill requires that:

  • all funding to Guantánamo be cut off, except funds used to transfer detainees
  • if charged or sentenced, detainees be transferred to Fort Leavenworth
  • if uncharged, detainees be transferred back to their home countries or other nations where they are not at risk of torture

Read Bill text.

Read an article by the ACLU concerning the bill and an article in which the ACLU ties the recent suicide at Guantánamo to a need for the passage of S. 1496.

To require the President to close the Department of Defense detention facility Guantánamo Bay, Cuba and for other purposes

Bill Number: H.R. 2212
Status: Introduced May 8, 2007, referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Sponsor: Representative Jane Harman (D-CA)
List of Co-sponsors

The bill is the House companion legislation to the Senate bill introduced by Senator Feinstein (D-CA), S 1249 discussed above.

Read Bill text.

Read a press release on Representative Harman's website.

Read an article about the bill from The Jurist.

Legislation Introduced to Restore Habeas Corpus

Military Commissions Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007
Bill Number: H.R. 267
Status: Introduced January 5, 2007. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsors: Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18th)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill amends title 28, United States Code, to repeal the restriction on the jurisdiction of courts, justices, and judges to hear or consider applications for writs of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of certain aliens detained by the United States. It is related to Senate Bill 185, co-sponsored by Senators Specter and Leahy, though the two bills are not identical.

To Preserve the Right of Habeas Corpus
Bill Number: H.R. 1189
Status: Introduced February 16, 2007. Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker.
Sponsor: Representative David Wu (D-OR-1st)
List of Co-sponsors

This two-sentence bill is aimed at one part of the Military Commissions Act -- to guarantee the right of habeas corpus to all U.S. residents. Nothing in the act "shall affect the right of any resident of the United States of America to habeas corpus." Though some say that Wu's bill is unnecessary, others recall that immediately after the passage of the Military Commissions Act, the Bush Administration announced that the President can and will use the bill to indefinitely detain non-citizens in the United States.

Wu remembers as a six-year-old when people "disappeared" as Japanese-Americans were imprisoned in the U.S. during World War II. He said, ""I remember people talking about folks who were taken away in the dead of night.""

Additional Information

Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 - HOUSE VERSION
Bill Number: H.R. 1415
Status: Introduced on March 8, 2007 and referred to Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Foreign Affairs.
Sponsor: Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8th) and Jane Harman (D-CA-36th)
List of Co-sponsors

Like S. 576, the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 in the Senate, H.R. 1415 selects a number of provisions from the Military Commissions Act for overhaul.

  • It restores habeas corpus,
  • Narrows the definition of enemy combatant,
  • Restricts the government from conducting torture and from using torture to compel testimony that can be used in court,
  • Makes it clear the U.S. government must abide by the Geneva Conventions,
  • Ensures that regardless of rank, no U.S. personnel can commit torture without consequences.

Read Jane Harman's opinion editorial about the introduction of H.R. 1415 and H.R. 1416.

Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007 - HOUSE VERSION
Bill Number: H.R. 1416
Status: Introduced March 8, 2007. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and to the Committee on Armed Services.
Sponsors: Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8th) and Jane Harman (D-CA-36th)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill is similar to the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007 introduced in the Senate, which seeks to restore habeas corpus.

Read News account of this bill's introduction.

Rep. Nadler, chair of the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, has promised to hold hearings on H.R. 1416 to move this bill out of committee and into Congressional action.

Read Statement by Rep. Nadler on H.R. 1416.

Military Commissions Revision Act of 2007

Bill Number: H.R. 2543
Status: Introduced May 24, 2007, referred to the House Committee on Armed Services and the House Committee on the Judiciary. On June 25, 2007, referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
Sponsor: Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
List of Co-sponsors

The bill amends the Military Commissions Act of 2006 by defining the term "unlawful enemy combatant," excluding evidence obtained by coercion, and providing some habeas corpus protections.

Read Bill text.

To amend titles 28 and 10, United States Code, to restore habeas corpus
Bill Number: H.R. 2826
Status: Introduced 6/22/07. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Armed Services. Hearing held on July 26, 2007 with witnesses, including Stephen Abraham, Lt. Colonel in the US Army Reserves, who has questioned the fairness of procedures in the Combatant Status Review Tribunals.
Sponsor: Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO-4)
List of Co-sponsors

H.R. 2826 proposes to restore the right of habeas corpus to all detainees housed at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Articles about Rep. Skelton's bill:

Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007 - SENATE VERSION
Bill Number: S 185
Sponsors: Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Status: Introduced on January 4, 2007. On June 7, it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 11-8 (with Specter as the lone Republican supporter) and on June 26, placed on Senate Legislative Calendar No. 220.
List of co-sponsors

This bill restores habeas corpus for those detained by the United States. It is similar to, but not identical to H.R. 267, a bill sponsored in the House by Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18th).

Unfortunately, restoration of habeas corpus alone will not fix what's wrong with the Military Commissions Act. Much more must be addressed, including the President's sole authority for naming "enemy combatants," the President's sole authority for interpreting Geneva Conventions, the use of evidence gained through torture and coercion, and allowing individuals to be held indefinitely without trial.

Additional Information

Statement by Sen. Specter on the Senate floor.

Download a flyer that explains what needs to be done to fix the Military Commissions Act.
Flyer in PDF
Flyer in Word

Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 - SENATE VERSION
Bill Number: S 576
Status: Introduced on February 13, 2007, read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Sponsor: Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT)
List of Co-sponsors

The bill's purpose is to restore the right of habeas corpus and other constitutional protections that were stripped via the 2006 Military Commissions Act. Dodd has created a petition and web page designed to elicit popular response to his bill.

Additional Information

Read statement from Senator Dodd, as he introduced this bill along with co-sponsors Russ Feingold (D-WI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Robert Menendez (R-NJ).

View Dodd's statement via broadband or dial-up.

Read text of S 576.

Jurist, Dodd Introduces Bill to Restore Habeas Corpus (2/14/07)

Secrecy News, Tempo of Congressional Oversight Increases (2/14/07)

Washington Post, Bill Would Restore Detainees' Rights, Define Combatants (2/13/07)

See also S 1876 under "Torture and Extraordinary Rendition" for an additional bill that restores habeas corpus along with ending most cases of extraordinary rendition, and modifies the definition of enemy combatants

Torture and Extraordinary Rendition

Anti-Torture Clause in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008
Bill Number: H.R. 2082
Status: Introduced in House May 1, 2007. Passed House May 11, 2007 225-197 Passed Senate on October 3, 2007 by unanimous consent. Sent to Conference Committee. Thirty retired admirals and generals had written a letter in mid-December, urging Congress to ignore Bush's threat to veto the bill and to pass legislation to ban waterboarding. House passed (222-199) a version on December 13, 2007 with a provision prohibiting the use of any interrogation technique not found in the Army Field Manual. On February 13, 2008, the Senate approved the conference report, 51-45 with the interrogation procedure prohibition intact. On March 8, 2008, the President fulfilled his promise to veto the bill. On March 11, a House vote of 225-188 failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.

Sponsor: Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX-16th)
Co-sponsors

The bill includes Section 327, which limits interrogation techniques. Here is the exact wording:

  • (a) Limitation- No individual in the custody or under the effective control of an element of the intelligence community or instrumentality thereof, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the United States Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations.
  • (b) Instrumentality Defined- In this section, the term `instrumentality', with respect to an element of the intelligence community, means a contractor or subcontractor at any tier of the element of the intelligence community.

American Anti-Torture Act of 2007
Bill Number: H.R. 4114
Status: Introduced on November 8, 2007 and referred to Committee on Armed Services and Committee on Judiciary.
Sponsor: Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-8th)
Co-sponsors

For more information:

Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act
Bill Number: H.R. 1352
Status: Introduced on March 6, 2007 and referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Sponsor:Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA-7th)
List of Co-sponsors

The purpose of H.R. 1352 is to prohibit the return or other transfer of persons by the United States, for the purpose of detention, interrogation, trial, or otherwise, to countries where torture or other inhuman treatment of persons occurs.

Additional Information:

Read Rep. Markey's Fact Sheet on Rendition.

Read list of 44 original co-sponsors.

Read Rep. Markey's Statement about H.R. 1352.

Read news article Democrats Renew Arar Fight March 6, 2007.

Read news article Markey bill to ban 'extraordinary rendition' aimed at stopping torture March 6, 2007.

To establish uniform standards for interrogation techniques applicable to individuals under the custody or physical control of the United States Government.
Bill Number: S 1943
Status: Introduced on August 2, 2007 and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Sponsor: Sen. Edweard Kennedy (D-MA)
Co-sponsors

National Security with Justice Act of 2007
Bill Number: S. 1876
Status: Introduced on July 25, 2007 and referred to Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sponsor: Senator Joseph Biden (D-CT)
List of Co-sponsors

A bill to prohibit extraterritorial detention and rendition, except under limited circumstances, to modify the definition of "unlawful enemy combatant" for purposes of military commissions, and to extend statutory habeas corpus to detainees.

Senator Biden is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A hearing on "Extraordinary Rendition, Extraterritorial Detention, And Treatment Of Detainees: Restoring Our Moral Credibility And Strengthening Our Diplomatic Standing" was held on July 26, 2007, with these witnesses:

Tom Malinowski, Human Rights Watch

Major General Paul Eaton, USA (Ret.), former Commanding General of the Office of Security Transition in Iraq

Dr. Philip Zelikow, History Professor at the University of Virginia

Dr. Daniel Byman, Director, Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University

Freedom of Information Act Legislation

Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 2007
Bill Number: H.R. 1309
Related Bill:H.R. 1326
Status: Introduced on March 12, 2007. Passed by the House on March 14 by a vote of 308-117. Roll Call 144 H.R. 1309 was received in Senate and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Sponsor: Representative William Lacey Clay (D-MO-1st)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill amends the Freedom of Information Act, restoring it to its state prior to Attorney General John Ashcroft's 2001 directive, impeding public disclosure of information. Ashcroft directed federal agencies to err on the side of withholding information. This bill would restore the "presumption of disclosure" in cases where there was a question about whether or not records should be released to the public.

Open Government Act of 2007
Bill Number: S 849
Status: Introduced on March 13, 2007 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Placed on Senate calendar No. 127 on April 30. Passed Senate on August 3, 2007 with amendments by unanimous consent. Sponsor: Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX)
List of Co-sponsors

A bi-partisan bill, which is similar to H.R. 1309. As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy held a hearing on S. 849 on March 14, entitled, "Open Government: Reinvigorating the Freedom of Information Act."

Read testimony from the March 14 hearing by clicking here.

Originally, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) blocked the Senate from considering the bill citing "uncharacteristically strong" opposition to the bill by the Justice Department.

Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act (OPEN) Government Act of 2007
Bill Number: S 2488
Status: Introduced on December 14, 2007. Read twice, and then a third time. Passed without amendment by unanimous vote. On December 18, the House received the bill, suspended the rules, and passed it by a voice vote. On December 19, it was sent to the President.
Sponsor: Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
List of Co-sponsors

This is a revised version of S. 849, which passed the Senate in August, but did not move in the House of Representatives. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) co-sponsored the legislation. Senator Cornyn said, " Passage of these long-overdue open government reforms is a victory for the American people. This sweeping legislation to let more sunshine in government will be one of the signature achievements of this Congress. Our bipartisan bill holds politicians and bureaucrats accountable in an age of ever-expanding size and scope of government. "

On October 12, 2001, then Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a memorandum informing government agencies that they should err on the side of releasing too little information, rather than complying with public Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Ashcroft committed to defending agencies that restricted public information, if challenged in court. This bill does a 180-degree turn from Ashcrofts policies, by penalizing agencies that don't comply with FOIA requests within a 20-day period of time. Government contractors who hold nonproprietary information would also be subject to the law.

According to Secrecy News, "For all of its procedural virtues, the OPEN Government Act does not touch the root of government secrecy, namely the decision to withhold information. The Act does not repeal or modify any of the more than one hundred statutory exemptions from disclosure under the FOIA. And it does not address the proper scope or application of the classification system. That is a task for another day."

Legislation Addressing Intelligence and Intelligence Oversight

Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007
Bill Number: House H.R. 1955
                   Senate S. 1959
Status: House: Introduced on April 19, 2007. Referred to the Homeland Security Committee. Passed out of committee October 16, 2007. Passed by a vote of 404-6 on October 23, 2007. Roll Call Number 993
           Senate: Introduced on August 2, 2007. Referred to Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Received House version October 16, 2007.
Sponsor: House: Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA-36th)
              Senate: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
House Co-sponsors
Senate Co-sponsors

The U.S. government search for "homegrown terrorists" has been in the works for more than a year. The Associated Press reported on August 30, 2006 of the Department of Homeland Security's concern that "homegrown terrorists" may be rising up throughout the U.S., ready to strike. This bill would create a 10-member national commission to "examine and report upon the facts and causes of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States, including United States connections to non-United States persons and networks, violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in prison, individual or `lone wolf' violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence, and other faces of the phenomena of violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence that the Commission considers important." The Commission will issue a report to the President and to Congress 18 months after its first meeting.

It's clear that this bill, though it creates a commission rather than providing law enforcement with more tools to hamper First Amendment rights, also poses a threat to Constitutional rights of free speech and freedoms of religion and association, because of its ambiguous language.

See articles below for commentary.

Only six Congressional representatives voted against H.R. 1955. They are: Neil Abercrombie (HI-1st), Jerry Costello (IL-12th), John J. Duncan, Jr. (TN 2nd), Jeff Flake (AZ-6th), Dennis Kucinich (OH-10th), and Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46th). 22 Congresspersons failed to vote.

What You Can Do:

  • Download and distribute BORDC's flyer, "Stop Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act" available in pdf in two sizes: full page and half page.
  • If your senator is on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, you can meet locally with the senator's aides. Senators do listen to their aides, especially when groups of constituents take the time to visit with and help educate them about the local feeling on a particular piece of legislation. Letters to the editor and opinion editorials that are published, clipped and sent to senators are also helpful. For tips on how to arrange meetings with aides, click here.

Bill sponsor Jane Harman (D-CA-36th) made this statement upon the bill's passage in the House: "The threat of a ‘Made in the USA’ suicide bomber has never been greater. This bill, though not a silver bullet, will help develop a better understanding of the root causes of homegrown terrorism, and the steps we can take to stop it. We must intervene before a person crosses the line separating radical views from violent behavior, create an environment that discourages disillusionment and alienation, and instill in young people a sense of belonging and faith in the future."

Representative Bennie Thompson, chair of the Committee on Homeland Security made this statement, "This vital legislation puts our nation on the path to addressing an emerging threat—homegrown terrorism. We simply don’t know how many ‘would-be terrorists’ are living right next door. Now we will have the ability to analyze our and other nations’ experience with this critical issue, propose and adopt recommendations for a safer America, and also protect civil rights and liberties of U.S. Citizens."

Testimony provided to the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment

A Resolution to Enhance Intelligence Oversight
Bill Number: H Res 35
Status: Passed/agreed to in House on January 9, 2007. By recorded vote: 239 - 188. (Roll Call 13)
Sponsor: Representative Dave Obey (R-WI-7th)

Statement of Rep. Dave Obey on January 8, 2007 about this bill.

Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007
Bill Number: H.R. 1
Related Bill: S. 4
Status: Passed House of Representatives on January 9, 2007. By recorded vote: 299-128. (Roll Call 15)
Conference Report passed by Senate on July 26, 2007 by a vote of 85-8. Roll Call 285
Conference Report passed by House on July 27, 2007 by a vote of 371 to 40. Roll Call 757.
Signed by the President on August 3, 2007. Public Law 110-53.
Sponsor: Representative Bennie G. Thompson (R-MS-2nd)
List of Co-sponsors

Text of H.R. 1

There is concern that H.R. 1 contains some hidden and troubling provisions, such as the fusion center programs in Title VII. Following are four articles, including one from the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, expressing concern about some of the bill's less well-known provisions.

Additional Information on Fusion Centers:

Spies Among Us, a 2005 background article on Fusion Centers by US News and World Report

9/11 Bill Contains Little Known Provisions, a U.S. News and World Report on H.R. 1

States Setting Up Own Anti-Terror Centers, a Boston Globe report

100-Hours Homeland Security Bill Not Ready for Prime Time by the Heritage Foundation

A positive outcome of the passage of H.R. I, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), is that it's a step forward for Congress, since the legislative body began debating the issue three decades ago. The legislation "will require -- not merely recommend -- public disclosure of the total national intelligence budget....it would lead to the first authorized disclosure of current U.S. intelligence spending since the aggregate budgets were disclosed in 1997 ($26.6 billion) and 1998 ($26.7 billion) in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the Federation of American Scientists. (Those figures included spending on "national" as well as "tactical" intelligence.)" Excerpts from the conference report regarding the intelligence budget are posted here.

Improving America's Security by Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007
Bill Number: S 4
Bill Title: A bill to reaffirm the authority of the Comptroller General to audit and evaluate the programs, activities, and financial transactions of the intelligence community, and for other purposes.
Related Bill: H.R. 1
Status: On March 13, 2007, passed Senate with an amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 60 - 38. Roll Call 73.
Sponsor: Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)
List of Co-sponsors

S.4, does not correct the emerging problems with the president's Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) being too closely allied with the administration. S 4 and H.R. 1 both expand fusion centers without providing any meaningful privacy protections (for example, it requires training to protect privacy as recommended by the PCLOB, which has repeatedly praised the illegal NSA wiretapping program).

S. 4 implements almost all of the remaining 9/11 Commission recommendations, but tucks in some provisions amid its 230+ pages, such as asking for a presidential report on doing away with privacy protections for US persons. Those provisions do not inspire confidence, from a civil liberties perspective. Unfortunately, this bill misses some important opportunities to add genuine enhancements for privacy and civil liberties.

Read Creating a Real Civil Liberties Oversight Board by Isaac Kaufman, of the Minnesota Bill of Rights Defense Committee.

On March 2, Senator John Kyl (R-AZ) introduced an amendment to S. 4, which would penalize employees of the House or Senate or other authorized personnel who knowingly disclose classified information that is contained in a report to Congress

The amendment when originally proposed in late February which seemed to be a threat to whistleblowers, drew strong opposition among civil liberties advocates because of its threat to whistleblowers. Open the Government and Sunshine in Government voices opposition to the amendment before it was introduced. As a result, Kyl modified the amendment and re-introduced a modified version on March 2.

Open Government Letter to Senators Leahy and Specter
Sunshine in Government Letter

Introduction of the Intelligence Community Audit Act of 2007
Bill Number: S 82
Bill Title: A bill to reaffirm the authority of the Comptroller General to audit and evaluate the programs, activities, and financial transactions of the intelligence community, and for other purposes.
Status: Read twice and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence on January 4, 2007.
Sponsor:Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
List of Co-sponsors

Additional Information

Statement by Sen. Akaka on the Senate floor.

Legislation Addressing Whistleblowers

Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act

Bill Number: H.R. 985
Status: Introduced February 12, 2007. Passed the House on March 14 by a vote of 331-94. Roll Call 153. On March 15, 2007, it was received in the Senate, read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Sponsor: Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA-30th)
List of Co-sponsors

This bill would amend title 5, United States Code, clarifying which disclosures of information are protected from prohibited personnel practices and requiring a statement in nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements to the effect that such policies, forms, and agreements are consistent with certain disclosure protections.

Additional Information

Read Testimony from February 13, 2007 hearing in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

View a trailer for the film "Kill the Messenger," about former FBI employee Sibel Edmonds' whistleblowing on FBI work practices and security breaches pre-9/11.

This bill is part of an Open Government Agenda, promoted by Congressional leaders during "Sunshine Week."

Whistleblower Protection Bill
Bill Number:S 274
Companion Bill:H.R. 985 Status: Introduced on January 11, 2007. On June 13, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted to approve the bill and send it to the Senate for debate, after one amendment was added. Committee member, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) subsequently placed a hold on the bill, which will keep it from a vote.
Sponsor: Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
List of Co-sponsors

This whistleblower protection legislation is companion to H.R. 985, which passed the House by a vote of 331-94 on March 13, 2007. The hold that Senator Coburn put on S 274 appears to be a nod to the White House, after President Bush promised to veto the House version of the bill. Click here to send a message to your Senator, telling her or him the importance of passing S. 274 to protect those who blow the whistle on governmental misdeed. More information can be found at the National Whistleblower Center

Legislation Addressing Warrantless Wiretapping

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Modernization Act of 2007
Bill Number: H.R. 3782
Status: Introduced on October 9, 2007 and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and to the Committee on Intelligence.
Sponsor: Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ-12th)
List of Cosponsors

Representative Holt's bill repeals the "Protect America Act," as well as establishing FISA as the exclusive means by which surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes can take place. It also maintains the traditional FISA protections of personal communications between U.S. persons.

RESTORE Act of 2007 (Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed and Effective Act)
Bill Number: H.R. 3773
Status: Introduced on October 9, 2007. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and to the Committee on Intelligence.
Passed on October 10 by the Committee on Intelligence by a vote of 12-7 with three amendments.
Passed the House of Representatives on November 15, 2007 by a vote of 227-189.
Amended to resolve differences with Senate bill S 2248 and passed by the House on March 14, 2008, by a vote of 213-197. For key features of this bill, click here.
Sponsors: Representative John Conyers (D-MI-14th) and Silvestre Reyes (D-TX-16th)
List of co-sponsors

The RESTORE Act was introduced by House Judiciary Chair Conyers and Intelligence Committee Chair Reyes to undo the damage from the "Protect America Act" (PAA), which was hurriedly passed before the August recess. Click here for text of the legislation. Click here for a comparison of RESTORE and PAA. The RESTORE Act:

  • Clarifies that no warrant is required to intercept communications between non-U.S. persons outside the United States.
  • Requires an individualized warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court when targeting an individual inside the United States, which is the same as current law.
  • Maintains the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as the exclusive means of electronic surveillance in the United States, and prohibits modifications to FISA without express legal authority.
  • Establishes quarterly audits by the Department of Justice's Inspector General, including the number of U.S. persons identified in intelligence reports.
  • Allows the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence to apply to the FISA Court to conduct surveillance of foreign targets or groups of targets for up to one year.

House Republicans have vowed to introduce amendments to this bill that will provide immunity to telecom companies that cooperated with the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping program, and make the PAA permanent (it is currently due to sunset in February 2008).

Read Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) February 12, 2008 letter to President Bush's attorney, Fred Fielding, requesting Administration documents on warrantless wiretapping. This request combines six previously unmet requests from January 2006 to October 2007. Until the Administration answers these basic questions about the wiretapping program, Congress cannot "fulfill its legislative and oversight responsibilities," and should not approve any secret Administration programs.

Unlike the Senate's FISA Amendments Act, HR 3773 as amended on 3/14/2008 would not provide retroactive immunity for the telecommunications carriers that carried out the warrantless surveillance of Americans' communications. It would sunset on 12/31/09, five years earlier than the Senate bill, and it would require the DOJ Inspector General audit and report publicly on all warrantless electronic surveillance. It would also:

  • Require judicial review in advance of surveillance except in emergencies.
  • Provide specific protections for Americans' international communications.
  • Require a court order based on probable cause to target Americans who are overseas.
  • Retain FISA at the exclusive means for wiretapping in the United States.

FISA Amendments Act
Bill Number: S 2248
Status: Introduced on October 26, 2007. Hearings held in Judiciary Committee on October 31. Reported out of committee on November 16. Passed by the Senate on February 12, 2008. 68-29
Sponsor: Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV)
Co-sponsors

Senate version of a bill which promises to "streamline" and "modernize" the Foreign Intelligance Surveillance Act (FISA). The Senate Intelligence Committee passed the bill out of committee. Its report is available by clicking here. This version of the bill immunizes telecommunication companies that cooperated with the president's illegal warrantless wiretapping program from September 2001 to January 2007.

On December 17, the Senate voted 76-10 to invoke cloture, so that debate on the bill would be limited to 30 hours. The only 2008 presidential candidate in the Senate who voted was Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), and he voted with 9 other senators against moving quickly to a vote. Then, Dodd threatened a filibuster in an attempt to strip the provision that immunizes telecommunications companies. After ten hours of debate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decided to remove the bill from consideration until January 2008 when the Senate returned from its recess.

Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI), Jim Webb (D-VA), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) crafted amendments to the original bill, which would have placed restrictions on government surveillance. The Senate voted on those amendments on February 12, 2008.

  • Dodd's amendment, SA 3907, would have stripped telecom immunity from the bill. It failed 31-67.
  • Feingold and Dodd's amendment, SA 3912, would have required the government to target individuals, rather than vacuuming up all electronic communications. It failed 37-60.
  • Feingold, Webb and Tester's amendment, SA 3979, would have restricted government surveillance when U.S. persons are included in the communication. It failed 35-62.
  • Even Senator Dianne Feinstein's amendment, SA 3910, which would have reiterated that FISA is the exclusive tool for government intelligence surveillance, failed 57-41.

The Senate and House must now reconcile this bill and the RESTORE Act before the Protect America Act (PAA) expires on February 16, 2008 otherwise, the Bush Administration will have to seek warrants for all its intelligence surveillance. And President Bush is prepared to use all his political muscle to prevent that outcome.

What You Can Do:
Call Your Congressional Representative TODAY with this message:

  • Do not give in to the Senate's version of the bill, passed on Tuesday.
  • Do not grant immunity to telecommunications companies.
  • Do not vote for a bill that allows wiretapping without a warrant. Our Fourth Amendment specifically states a warrant is needed for government searches.

Senator Feingold released this statement on the Senate floor on February 12. Senator Dodd's statement, "The Rule of Law Abandoned, Dark Day in the Senate."

Protect America Act of 2007
Bill Number: S. 1927
Status: Introduced on August 1, 2007. Read for the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.
Sponsor: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Co-sponsors

Passed by Congress on August 3 and 4, and signed into law by President Bush on August 5.

In the House, the August 4 vote was 227-183. In the Se