Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today issued the following statement following the announcement that the House will hold a closed session to review the Bush Administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.  The House is also expected to consider, as early as tonight, H.R. 3733, the FISA Amendments Act.  Rep. Nadler’s statement follows:

“I am confident that a closed session will only help further prove that H.R. 3733, the FISA Amendments Act, is carefully crafted and will give our intelligence agencies all the tools they need to protect our country, and also protect the fundamental civil liberties of all law abiding Americans.  It provides security and guards our freedom.  If a closed session is needed to cut through the scare tactics and fear mongering of the Administration, then so be it.  The more information lawmakers have at their disposal, the more they will see that our legislation is the right approach.

“I have attended many classified briefings, and I have seen nothing that would justify the broad changes sought by the White House.  On the issue of retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies that aided in the President’s warrantless wiretapping program, I doubt that anything can be revealed in the closed session that would demonstrate the need for anything other than what we have proposed.  Changes are needed – but they are needed to ensure that truly sensitive national security information is protected by using well-established procedures from FISA.  That is accomplished in the FISA Amendments Act, and I urge my colleagues to adopt it.”