FISA Surprise: Bill Amendment Could Mean No Telecom Immunity for Months (corrected)

By Andrew Cochran

CORRECTION, July 8: The amendment referred to my original post refers to an amendment to be offered during Senate debate, and not to Section 301 in the House-passed bill, as I first reported. The error is mine and I regret any confusion I might have caused by my original post. The post below now reflects the correction.)
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The U.S. House passed the "FISA Amendments Act of 2008" right before the July 4 recess, which provided a mechanism for immunizing telecommunications companies from possible lawsuits resulting from cooperation provided for the NSA wireless surveillance program after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. At the time, it was characterized as a victory for the telecoms, and the White House supported it. The Senate will vote on another provision to the bill which guarantees that immunity wouldn't become effective for months after the President signs the bill, and the White House is now demanding that the Senate remove that provision.

Under the amendment to be offered by Sen. Bingaman, at least four Inspectors General must review the entire program, starting from the 9-11 attacks through January of this year (corrected), and report to the Congress; the immunity becomes effective 90 days after that report is sent to Congress. The requirement has drawn a veto threat from the Adiminstration (see this letter to the Congress).

I worked for over 10 years as a supervisory auditor in the Commerce Department Inspector General's office, and I can guarantee that such a report as contemplated, presumably to be prepared and written under generally accepted government auditing standards, cannot possibly be completed in any less than 15 months, and perhaps not for as long as two years. The original Section 301 in the House bill gives the IGs a year after enactment but does not delay the implementation of the bill for the report. The Bingaman amendment is expected to be defeated.

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