Harry Reid's response: says nothing, commits to nothing, but sounds nice

just popped in to my inbox...

Efforts to replace the flawed Protect America Act with a better statute are underway. On October 17, 2007, Representative John Conyers (D-MI) introduced in the House of Representatives the Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective (RESTORE) Act of 2007 (H.R.3773). Although the House has not yet voted on the bill, my colleagues will likely reconsider this measure in the near future and it is an improvement over the Protect America Act.

On October 18, 2007, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence agreed 13-2 to the text of a draft Senate bill which many believe is also a substantial improvement over the flawed Protect America Act. As Senators and the public examine the bill, there will be some debate about certain provisions in this initial draft bill, most notably how the draft bill addresses issues related to the alleged cooperation of telecommunications carriers with the government on intelligence collection.

In the coming weeks, Senators will have an opportunity to further refine and improve the draft bill, first through Senate Judiciary Committee action, then during floor debate, and in the conference process with the House. I assure you that I will work with my longtime friend and colleague Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) to ensure that he feels his rights as a United States Senator to amend and improve legislation are preserved and respected. You can be certain that I will be pushing hard for a final bill that provides America with the effective but legal intelligence tools needed to fight terrorism, while also protecting our civil liberties and establishing strong mechanisms for congressional and judicial oversight.

says nothing, commits to nothing, but sounds nice...

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