FISA

Telecom immunity. Public financing. Faith-based initiatives. NAFTA. Just words?

U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley: Campaign photoIn his first post to his Daily Kos diary in almost three months, U.S Senate candidate and Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D-Portland) urged the U.S Congress to oppose the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 on Tuesday.

Merkley sees controversy in the part of the bill which gives immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in surveillance on domestic citizens.

"The bill will force federal district courts to immediately dismiss any cases against telecommunications companies that participated in illegal surveillance," Merkley wrote. "This is unacceptable. The Constitution of the United States was violated. Over several years telecommunications companies turned over the records of millions of innocent Americans to the federal government without proper oversight and without a warrant."