868 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 154, Pt. 1 January 25, 2008 Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam Presi- This is a very controversial and dif- we are going after the bad guys, and we dent, I appreciate very much the argu- ficult subject. Frankly, nearly every- have a right to do that. And we did this ments made by the very distinguished one, with the possible exception of the program because the process that had Senator from Missouri, who is also the chairman and ranking member or been set up because of abuses with re- vice chairman of the Intelligence Com- maybe one or two others on the Intel- spect to eavesdropping and spying on mittee and possesses great experience ligence Committee, knows very little American citizens decades ago, that in this area. My point, though, is that about that which we are discussing. process was way too cumbersome, took all these arguments are for naught if Let me put up a photograph of a far too much time, and we needed to the simple courtesy of a Senator being door. This is a door in San Francisco, streamline that. That is a paraphrase. allowed to vote on his amendment is CA, a rather unremarkable photograph But there was an admission that this not honored. of a door. This is a door that is in program existed and no additional This particular amendment being AT&T’s central offices in San Fran- legal authority needed to empower the nongermane postcloture means it may cisco. A courageous employee of AT&T President to do it. very well be squeezed out by the proce- named Mark Klein, who had been with So that is where we are. Most of us dural devices the Republican leader has the company for 22 years, blew the don’t know the full extent of this pro- applied. So my simple question is, if I whistle on what was happening behind gram at all. In fact, my understanding may ask it through the Chair to the this door. According to Mark Klein, the is that rooms like this exist in other distinguished Senator from Missouri, National Security Agency had con- parts of the country with other tele- the Republican manager of this bill, nected fiber optic cables to AT&T’s cir- phone companies where splitters are can we assure Senator SPECTER and cuits through which the National Secu- used to move data to separate rooms myself that this amendment will, at rity Agency could essentially monitor and data is evaluated. the appropriate time in this legisla- all of the data crossing the Internet. This whole process comes from sev- tion, receive a vote? Here is what Mr. Klein had to say went eral decades ago when something Mr. BOND. Madam President, I am on behind this door: called the FISA Court was set up, a happy to respond as soon as we go back It appears the [National Security Agency] court to evaluate the questions about to the normal means of proceeding on is capable of conducting what amounts to when it is legal and appropriate and FISA matters, establishing a 60-vote vacuum-cleaner surveillance of all the data when the Government is able to inter- threshold, which is the standard I had crossing the Internet—whether that be peo- cept communications. The FISA Court to meet to bring the Protect America ple’s e-mail, web surfing, or any other data. was established for the very purpose of Act to the floor. I would certainly ex- The description of what was hap- trying to make the judgment about pect that his amendment would be pening at this one telephone company when it is appropriate to go after the brought up, fully discussed, and de- in this one location in San Francisco bad guys and how to protect our civil bated. This is one of the major issues was this: the intercepting of commu- liberties at the same time. we have to decide. But we have to de- nications at the AT&T Folsom Street The FISA Court was an outgrowth of cide it on a 60-vote point of order. facility, millions, perhaps billions of concern by the Congress when we dis- communications from ordinary Ameri- f covered that there was a time in this cans coming into and through the facil- country when we had the National Se- MORNING BUSINESS ity, which would normally have been curity Agency running secret projects Mr. BOND. Madam President, I ask the case for a telephone company, and called Shamrock and Minaret to gather unanimous consent that the Senate a splitter being used, according to the both international communications proceed to a period of morning business discussion by Mark Klein, splitting off and also domestic communications. with Senators permitted to speak for all of this conversation into an NSA- Project Shamrock actually started up to 10 minutes each. controlled room, to be eventually eval- during the Second World War when The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without uated with sophisticated programming, major communications companies of objection, it is so ordered. and then going back out in order to the day gave the Federal Government The Senator from North Dakota. complete the communication. So you access to all of their international traf- f have effectively a copy of everything fic. One can imagine, in the fight that is happening going through with a against the Nazis and the Japanese Im- FISA splitter to a secret room. perial Army, the desire for inter- Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, we When this became public, when a national communications to evaluate are talking about FISA we use a lot of whistleblower working for the com- things that might threaten this coun- acronyms in Washington, DC, unfortu- pany said, here is what is happening, try’s security. But the Shamrock pro- nately—the Foreign Intelligence Sur- there was an unbelievable outcry on gram then, as we know, changed over veillance Act. It is a complicated sub- both sides. Some people said: What on time. ject, and one, if people have been Earth is happening? We have secret At first the goal was to intercept watching the debate, that is also con- rooms in which the National Security international telegrams relating to for- troversial. There is a lot of passion Agency is running all this data and all eign targets. Then, soon the Govern- about this subject. We have people this information through and spying on ment began to intercept telegrams of standing up and saying: None of this American citizens? Others said: What U.S. citizens. By the time there were should be disclosed. We should not be is going on? Who on Earth would have hearings held in the Congress, the Na- talking about this. This is about the decided they should disclose this pub- tional Security Agency was inter- ability to protect our country against licly? They are going to alert the ter- cepting and analyzing about 150,000 terrorists. Of course, we have to listen rorists to what we are doing. We had messages per month. into communications and intercept both sides aghast that this was dis- Data from Project Shamrock was communications. It is the only way to closed. It is important to say that, ini- then used for another project code find out if there are terrorist acts tially, almost no one in an official ca- named Project Minaret, which we now being plotted by terrorist groups, and pacity was willing to admit to this. Fi- know spied on perceived political oppo- so on. There is that kind of thing. nally, it was admitted, yes, there was a nents of the then-administration of There are concerns on the other side program. The President said: Yes, Richard Nixon. Under this program the by people who say: Wait a second. there is a program—speaking, appar- NSA added Vietnam war protesters to There is something called a Constitu- ently, of just this program; we don’t its watch list. After there was a march tion in this country. There is a right to know of other programs that exist or on the Pentagon, the Army requested privacy, a right to expect that the Gov- may exist, but this program existed that they add antiwar protesters. The ernment will not be spying on Amer- without our knowledge. The President list included people such as folk singer ican citizens without cause. indicated this program existed because Joan Baez and civil rights leader Dr. VerDate Mar 15 2010 08:13 Sep 24, 2010 Jkt 069102 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR08\S25JA8.000 S25JA8 rmajette on DSK29S0YB1PROD with BOUND RECORD January 25, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 154, Pt. 1 869 Martin Luther King, Jr. We just cele- cation. That, in my judgment, does not ican people is you are not willing to brated within the week the Federal pass the red face test. stand up for the security of this coun- holiday celebrating the birthday of I hope very much we will begin to try. Martin Luther King, Jr. Yet it was not learn at some point what this adminis- It is outrageous. It is dragging this too many decades ago that Dr. Martin tration has done, when they did it, and issue smack-dab in the middle of their Luther King, Jr., was under surveil- what the consequences of it are. This little political balloon. But this is a lance by his own Government. issue of the Foreign Intelligence Sur- much more important process than The Congress passed its findings, veillance Act has become a political that.