Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) will be introducing an Amendment to HR 5631, the DOD Appropriations Bill, this afternoon that would deny the Administration funds to conduct illegal electronic surveillance except as authorized under FISA or chapters 119 or 121 of title 18, United States Code. Were this to pass, it would be huge. It would say that Congress is not going to fund an illegal action.
Inslee and co-sponsors Flake (R-AZ), Inglis (R-SC), Schiff (D-CA) and Van Hollen (D-MD), are saying you can't use tax dollars to break the law. President Bush and his administration have to obey the law like all the rest of us.
This Amendment would use the power of the purse to cut off the President's illegal behavior. This is the role of the House. And, according to Inslee, speaking on a conference call yesterday to bloggers back in Washington State, if the House doesn't make this type of surveillance of US persons illegal, "We might as well kiss off the Constitution."
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