Senator Maria Cantwell statement on FISA legislation

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement today regarding the FISA legislation, which passed the Senate with immunity for the telecom companies intact.

“We all want to protect our country’s national security interests and Americans from those who would do us harm, but to do so without accountability or without checks and balances is contrary to our country's very foundations.

“I have serious concerns about this legislation including whether innocent Americans’ privacy rights will be respected.

“I am also troubled that this bill would effectively dismiss 40 pending cases regarding telecom companies' participation in the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program. Congress should not be providing blanket immunity for telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Administration’s warrantless wiretapping programs. We don’t know precisely what those companies did or the full extent of their actions. Congress should respect judicial review and not take away the only opportunity for redress available to American citizens for potential overreaching by this Administration.”

Thank you Senator Cantwell for standing up for the First Amendment (right of the People to petition their government for redress of grievances) and Fourth Amendment (unlawful searches and seizures) to the Constitution.