Washington, DC- Today, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus FISA Task Force, released the following statement on the House of Representatives passing H.R. 3773, the "Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act, FISA (the Restore Act)."

"Today, Congress passed H.R. 3773, the 'Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act, FISA,' which ensures that American citizens and persons in America are made secure in their persons, papers, and effects, but terrorists throughout the world are made insecure," said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
 
"H.R. 3773 amends the 'Protect America Act' by balancing the interest in protecting the nation from terrorists that would do us harm and, at the same time, ensures that the constitutional rights of American citizens and persons in America are not abridged," according to Congresswoman Jackson Lee.
 
"I have worked hard to ensure that the bill; affirms that FISA is the exclusive source of legal authority for conducting electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence; does not grant amnesty to telecommunications companies for any past violations of law; gives the FISA Court more oversight authority and terminates the authorization to conduct foreign surveillance on U.S. soil after two years,” pointed out Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

"This legislation is a substantial improvement over the bill proposed by the Bush Administration and I thank my congressional colleagues for passing this vital piece of legislation in the House of Representatives," concluded Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. 

 

 

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