People for the American Way (email): The Senate passed a FISA reform bill last week that not only falls short on adequately protecting Americans fr
February 21, 2008

People for the American Way (email):

The Senate passed a FISA reform bill last week that not only falls short on adequately protecting Americans from warrantless surveillance, but also shamefully grants retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies that may have aided the Bush administration's illegal domestic wiretapping.

The House, which is showing encouraging signs of spinal fortitude in recent days, can still stop this. That is why we are launching an emergency petition to STOP TELECOM IMMUNITY. Please be one of the first to sign.

Americans are speaking out -- thousands have taken action, hundreds have participated in our collaborative multimedia project with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and have sent us video testimonials and pictures expressing their opposition to telecom immunity and warrantless spying.

The House is thus far refusing to follow the Senate's lead on telecom immunity. And last week, a majority in the House heeded the call of the nearly 45,000 PFAW petition signers and voted to hold White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress for their failure to honor congressional subpoenas.

The contempt vote showed that the House is ready to hold the administration accountable AND that petitions can make a real difference (in whipping votes, trying to move the contempt resolution, our allies on the Hill specifically cited the PFAW petition as part of the case that Americans wanted to see administration officials held accountable to the rule of law).

Can you help us out?

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