Civil liberties

Washington, D.C. -- March 18, 2008 -- Freedom House today expressed serious concern about the Chinese government’s violent suppression of protests in Tibet and the subsequent closing of information channels in the region, and urged President Bush to speak out forcefully against the repression.    » read more »

February 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Earlier today, Senator Obama voted in favor of the Dodd-Feingold amendment to repeal retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies (S. Amdt. 3907). He also supported other amendments to improve the bill, including the Feingold-Webb-Tester amendment to protect Americans from unwarranted surveillance (S. Amdt. 3979), and the Feingold amendment to protect Americans from the bulk collection of communications (S. Amdt. 3912).    » read more »

February 12, 2008 -- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – FISA – is intended to protect both our national security and the privacy and civil liberties of Americans.    » read more »

(As Prepared for Delivery)

February 12, 2008 -- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is one of our landmark statutes. For three decades, it has carefully regulated government surveillance in a way that protects both our national security and our civil liberties and prevents the government from abusing its powers. It is because FISA enhances both security and liberty that it has won broad support over the years from presidents, Congress, and the public alike.    » read more »

February 12, 2008 -- "Mr. President, last year Congress passed a temporary bill with a six month time limit that would give us the opportunity to carry out a thorough, thoughtful examination of how to utilize complicated new technologies in the surveillance of suspected terrorists without invading the privacy of innocent Americans. In the months since we passed that temporary act, we have worked in a bipartisan manner to consider the best course forward for permanent changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.    » read more »

February 12, 2008 -- "I believe we need to modernize our surveillance laws and give our nation’s intelligence professionals the tools they need to fight terrorism and to make our country more secure. At the same time, smart, balanced reform must also protect the rights and civil liberties of Americans. In my opinion, the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 falls short of these goals, and for that reason, I oppose the bill.    » read more »

January 16, 2008 -- The year 2007 was marked by a notable setback for global freedom, Freedom House reported in a worldwide survey of freedom released today.    » read more »

November 15, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor tonight in support of H.R. 3773, the RESTORE Act, which updates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to provide flexible surveillance tools for the intelligence community while protecting the constitutional rights of Americans. The bill passed by a vote of 227 to 189. Below are the Speaker’s remarks:    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- October 3, 2007 -- A lack of media freedom and increased threats to civil liberties in Ethiopia are limiting social and economic development in that country, according to a new study by Freedom House, released shortly after Ethiopia’s millennium celebration.    » read more »