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Candidate Urges Passing of Surveillance Act |
The Alamogordo Daily News
By Karl Anderson, Staff Writer
Ed Tinsley, Republican candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, said he is calling on Congress to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in response to Gen. David Petraeus' testimony in Washington, DC.
A letter recently sent by Tinsley's office to the Capitol expressed that sentiment.
"The clear and candid assessment presented to Congress and the American public by General Petraeus...shows that the surge strategy has proven to be effective in reducing violence in Iraq," he said.
"Tinsley said tactical decisions that will guide the course of U.S. involvement in Iraq deserve to be made by the commander-in-chief and generals on the ground.
"If the Congress is concerned about protecting our soliders fighting abroad, it should end its dangerous refusal to pass the bipartisan, Senate-passed legislation to modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act," he said. "The immeasurable sacrifices made by the patriotic soldiers and veterans of New Mexico and America as a whole, along with their families, are more than commendable."
FISA is a federal law prescribing procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information," between "foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers." which may include American citizens and permanent residents engaged in espionage and violating U.S. law.
The act created a court that meets in secret and approves or denies requests for search warrants. Only the number of warrants applied for, issued and denied, is reporded. In 1980, the first full year after its inception, it approved 322 warrants. In 2006, it approved 2,224 warrants.
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