Showdown on FISA bill looming

by James Oliphant

Earlier today, the Senate voted 76-10 to move the renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act forward, cutting off debate on the measure. The current bill, s. 2248, is a version of the bill that passed the Intelligence Committee. The bill contains what has been the law's most controversial measure: a provision that grants large telcom companies such as Verizon and AT&T retroactive legal immunity for cooperating with the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program. The bill would insulate the telecoms from lawsuits pending in California and elsewhere that accuse the companies of violating the constitutional rights of Americans.

Now, the spotlight falls on Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), a presidential candidate who has returned to Washington from Iowa for the floor debate. According to the website Talking Points Memo, Dodd's campaign vowed again that Dodd will filibuster the bill on the floor as long as he can until the immunity provision is stricken. As TPM notes, Dodd's fellow Democrats on the campaign trail, Sens. Joseph Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama have said they would support a Dodd filibuster. Unfortunately for Dodd, all of them are in Iowa.

Without them, Dodd's supporters will have to make their stand today. "We can't go around and grant immunity to companies that turn their back on the rule of law," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), minutes ago. "I think this is a watershed moment for us."

Pushing Dodd are some members of his own party, such as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who want to wrap up the FISA legislation today with the massive omnibus spending bill due to reach the Senate tomorrow after it is passed by the House tonight. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chair of the Judiciary Committee, has also signaled that he will try and include provisions from the stalled bill from his committee into the bill now before the full Senate.

In a just released statement, Leahy said:

"This administration violated FISA by conducting warrantless surveillance for more than five years. They got caught, and if they hadn’t, they would probably still be doing it. When the public found out about the president’s illegal surveillance of Americans, the administration and the telephone companies were sued by citizens who believe their privacy and their rights were violated. Now the administration is trying to get this Congress to terminate those lawsuits in order to insulate itself from accountability. We should not allow this to happen."