Stealth passage of "Protect America Act".

A newly crafted piece of legislation will expand the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The legislation, entitled the Protect America Act of 2007 (S. 1927), was authored mostly by the White House and submitted to Congress by Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence. With little room for public debate, the bill to expand the wiretapping surveillance program has not only been passed by Congress, but also signed by President Bush. As the final hours of the 2007 summer congressional session came to a close, Congress passed the Protect America Act by a vote of 60-28 in the Senate on August 3, and 227-183 in the House on August 4. The president signed the legislation into law on August 5.

With the signing of S. 1927, the federal government has been given the authority to monitor American citizens' e-mails and phone conversations, providing they are corresponding with or speaking to persons outside of the United States. The law was created in response to the 2005 revelation that President Bush secretly allowed warrantless electronic surveillance on communications believed to be between a U.S. citizen and a member of al-Qaeda or another terrorist organization. The revised version of the warrantless surveillance program will now be directed at any person "reasonably believed to be located outside of the United States"--despite the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against "unreasonable searches and seizures."

The Protect America Act is set to expire in six months due to a sunset clause. With growing public opposition to the Protect America Act, as well as opposition from some key members of Congress, it is likely that this law could be allowed to expire in February of 2008.