Participants in the ACLU’s Stand Up for Freedom membership conference June 8-10 will visit their members of Congress on “Lobby Day” Tuesday afternoon, visits pre-arranged by ACLU staff. Topics ACLU hopes citizen-lobbyists will bring up include:
Government sponsored torture:
After years of denial, President Bush has admitted he knew about and approved of his closest advisors meeting in the basement of the White House to discuss the use of horrific interrogation methods on detainees held in United States custody.
Because torture was reportedly authorized by the highest-ranking White House officials, including the vice president and Cabinet secretaries, we ask that Members of Congress 1) thoroughly investigate the use of these tactics and whether criminal laws were broken; and 2) demand the attorney general appoint a special counsel to investigate what crimes were committed and hold those responsible accountable.
FISA and the Fourth amendment
Our Fourth Amendment rights are in jeopardy as the president continues to pressure members of Congress to legalize his warrantless wiretapping program and to give the telecommunications carriers a get-out-of-jail-free card. We are less than a year away from having a new president, and there is no reason to grant sweeping powers now.
We believe that neither the House nor the Senate version of the FISA Amendments Act should be passed. Rather, FISA, in its current form, should remain the standard for wiretapping in the United States. We also ask Congress to refuse to provide immunity to the telecommunications companies that illegally helped the administration spy on our calls and e-mails.
Employee verification
Proposals are making their way through Congress that would dramatically expand the government’s flawed “E-Verify” program — requiring every employer in the United States to verify the eligibility of every current and prospective employee, including United States citizens. E-Verify is currently used by only a fraction of our nation’s employers, but its database errors and bureaucratic bungling have caused enormous financial losses for employers and would bar millions of Americans from working. The program also places an incredible strain on an overburdened Social Security Administration.
We ask Members of Congress to 1) oppose the SAVE Act (H.R. 4088) or any similar measure containing employment verification language; 2) refuse to co-sponsor and/or remove their names as co-sponsors of the SAVE Act; and 3) decline to sign and/or remove their names from the SAVE Act discharge petition. We also ask lawmakers to support legislation mandating the government clean up its error-ridden databases before any verification programs become law.
