Provide Better Tools to Bring Terrorists to Justice

Democrats want to take all necessary action to defeat terrorists, including those hiding here in the United States and helping terrorists overseas. The Real Security Act reflects the commitment of Senate Democrats to provide the President with the legal tools he needs to apprehend and punish terrorists, but to require that he act within the rule of law. Specifically, the bill expresses our commitment to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as needed to ensure our intelligence agencies have the tools they require to engage in electronic surveillance of individuals with ties to terrorist organizations, as well as our commitment to enact legislation to bring terrorists to justice consistent with the recent Supreme Court decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

Adapting FISA to Fight to a Modern Day War on Terror. Democrats believe that government authorities should have the legal authority to engage in electronic surveillance of any telephone conversation or other communication in which one party is reasonably believed to be a member or agent of a terrorist organization. We are committed to ensuring that FISA, which became law in 1978, is still adequate to thwart terrorists in 2006. We will do so in a way that is consistent with the Constitution and that protects the privacy of law-abiding Americans with no ties to terrorism.

A Tough and Effective Way to Hold Terrorists Accountable. Five years after September 11th, not a single terrorist or detainee in Guant�namo Bay has been brought to justice, because the Bush Administration established flawed procedures over the objections of our military lawyers. In its recent decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Administration�s approach, finding that: (1) Congress should establish the rules for trying suspected terrorists and (2) President Bush must abide by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions by using regularly constituted military courts to try accused war criminals. In the Real Security Act, Democrats call for a bipartisan legislative process to authorize such military commissions, guided by the views of professional military lawyers who have experience prosecuting, defending and judging cases under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

» The Real Security Act of 2005
» Implement the 9/11 Commission Recommendations
» Refocus on the War on Terror
» Protect Our Transportation Systems
» Equip Our Intelligence Community to Fight Against Terrorists
» Change the Course in Iraq
» Provide Better Tools to Bring Terrorists to Justice