ACLU - "House Leadership Stands Up To Bush on Spying"

[Jeffersons Ghost]

House Leadership Stands Up To Bush on Spying

Thanks to the hard work of ACLU members and activists, key members of the House introduced compromise legislation on FISA yesterday. While the ACLU has concerns about aspects of the new bill, it is important to note that the House is standing up to the executive branch and its demands to engage in unchecked wiretapping on US soil.

"We see the House’s new FISA bill as a positive step towards reining in the powers of the flawed Protect America Act rushed through Congress this past August,” said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. “This is a clear rejection of the Senate’s problematic approach.”

Even with administration officials issuing ominous warnings, the American people are prevailing. House leadership -- at least for now -- is finally standing up to Bush fear mongering.

Here are just a couple highlights of what we recently accomplished together:

On Monday, we delivered our "Keep Standing Up to Fear Mongering" petition with more than 50,000 signatures to House Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer and representatives who stood up to President Bush.

Last week, our Calling for Freedom campaign generated tens of thousands of phone calls to Congress.
Congress did not pass Bush’s spying bill and in fact, House leadership introduced a better bill. The president threatened to veto the compromise bill, but the House pushed it through today anyway.

But the fight is nowhere near over yet. Now is not the time to get complacent. We need to keep the pressure on Congress to continue standing up to Bush's incessant demands for telecom immunity and his veto threats.

You’ve seen the headlines. The current administration vetoes an anti-torture bill, and continues to push for an illegal wiretapping program. After six years, detainees at Guantànamo Bay are still being held without the benefit of the most basic legal and human rights. Many state and local governments continue to run roughshod over our constitutionally protected liberties on issues ranging from free speech to voter rights. If you want to get involved in the restoration of our most fundamental rights, the ACLU Membership Conference is the place for you.

Join us in Washington, D.C. June 8-10 to stop the abuse of power!
http://www.aclu.org/conference/2008/