Terry Everett, September 29, 2006

By the time you read this column you will have already been barraged with rhetoric from liberals about how Congress is "throwing out the Constitution" and rubberstamping "spying on Americans." In reality, by approving legislation to try terrorists by military tribunals while also allowing the Federal government to monitor terrorist phone conversations, Congress is not tossing aside our freedoms. These actions, which do not affect law-abiding Americans, uphold the Constitution and will help to continue safeguarding our nation from terrorist attack.

Last Friday, the U.S. House passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (S 3930) by a 250 to 170 margin. It creates a system of justice for suspected terrorists that will uphold our nation's critical intelligence capability, while also giving suspected terrorists basic legal protections.

We have captured hundreds of terrorists since September 11, 2001, including the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks. But until now we have lacked a clear way to bring them to justice without compromising our own intelligence gathering capability. The Military Commissions Act creates a system of military tribunals to try alien enemy fighters who have been involved in or supported terrorist activity.

It also ensures that terrorists have basic legal rights, including the right to counsel, the right to obtain evidence and witnesses, and the right to appeal a guilty verdict. Furthermore, suspected terrorists have the right to be present at all legal proceedings and no evidence may be presented to the jury unless it is also provided to the accused terrorist. Classified evidence will be admissible in an unclassified form. No classified evidence deemed detrimental to national security will be disclosed to accused terrorists or jurists.

Finally, the Act will help our military and intelligence personnel by protecting their identities, and it provides a clear definition of accepted interrogation methods so that our troops have better guidance and can be protected from civil lawsuits filed by terrorists. This legislation is more than fair to radical enemies of America and it ensures that our vital intelligence gathering can continue so we can prevent loss of life due to terrorists at home and abroad.

Last Thursday, the U.S. House also passed the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act (HR 5825) by a vote of 232 to 191. It is equally necessary to enact this legislation to help protect our country from future terror attacks. Current law regarding government foreign intelligence surveillance is many decades out of date and does not account for modern communications technology.

The legislation updates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and removes excessive bureaucracy, streamlining the process of the government applying for a FISA warrant to monitor suspect terrorist communications to and from the United States. It also increases Congressional oversight of terrorist surveillance and includes other safeguards to ensure that Americans' civil liberties are protected. These steps serve to ensure that the government has timely access to communications that may save many lives, while at the same time, it continues to guarantee the Fourth Amendment rights that protect Americans from unreasonable search and seizure.

America must protect its freedoms or else the terrorists will have won. These bills do not harm our civil liberties, but they do enhance the government's ability to protect us.

Congressman Terry Everett, a Republican, represents Alabama's Second Congressional District, which includes the state capitol, Montgomery.