Feingold praises delay on wiretap vote

[dogday]

Opponents of a bill that would expand the president's surveillance powers have succeeded in delaying a vote on the measure, ensuring that Senators have the Independence Day recess to ponder their positions on what critics say is a move to gut the Constitution.

The Senate this week was considering an update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that civil libertarians said would legalize President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program and preclude any independent inquiry into potentially illegal actions by the administration and the nation's major telecommunications companies.

Sens. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) threw as many procedural roadblocks in front of the bill as they could, and they managed to prevent the Senate from ramming it through with little debate. A vote on the FISA update is now scheduled for July 8, after Senators return from a weeklong recess; they also will consider an amendment seeking to strip telecom immunity from the bill, although its chances of passing are slim.

"I’m pleased we were able to delay a vote on FISA until after the July 4th holiday instead of having it jammed through," Feingold said late Thursday. "I hope that over the July 4th holiday, Senators will take a closer look at this deeply flawed legislation and understand how it threatens the civil liberties of the American people. It is possible to defend this country from terrorists while also protecting the rights and freedoms that define our nation."


http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Feingold_praises_delay_on_wiretap_vote_0627.html

[annabanana]

1. MAJOR kudos to Feingold for his hard work on our behalf..

and on the behalf of America. Lets not lose our focus over the holiday. You know there will be a push to stuff this monstrosity through before we get our first cup of coffee down.

[bdamomma]

2. exactly keep focused on this, and keep on calling your senators offices.

we need to let them know that we ARE PAYING VERY CLOSE ATTENTION.

[PassingFair]

3. Yep... and tell them that you know the difference between cloture...

and actual passage votes.

I expect that many who voted yes on the cloture will
vote NO on the actual bill.

They think we are STUPID.

:eyes:

[pinto]

4. kick

:kick:

[mopinko]

5. i'm afraid that an amendment would just be stripped in conference.

that's the problem. boy, what i wouldn't give to have this bill just get put on the shelf to gather dust.

[bdamomma]

6. kick

[quiet.american]

7. Feingold and Dodd have my genuine admiration. nt

[dogday]

8. Kick