At the end of 2007, the principled leadership of Senator Christopher Dodd stopped Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from forcing through the Senate a dangerous and unconstitutional FISA bill written closely with the Bush administration. What has Harry Reid done since then to forge a better solution?

Absolutely nothing.

In fact, Senator Reid's plan of action is to bring before the Senate this week a disastrous Intelligence Committee bill - one that yields to Bush's demand to retroactively let telecom companies off the hook for cooperating with warrantless eavesdropping on their customers.

We've only got a few days to convince Harry Reid to change course. The ACLU's principled demand is simple and straightforward: If it isn't constitutional, don't let the Senate vote on it.

Sign our urgent petition to Senator Reid.

What kind of leadership is it to bring a dangerous "give Bush what he wants" bill before the Senate just to get the issue of warrantless eavesdropping off the Senate calendar?

If Harry Reid won't lead on this issue by bringing a good bill to the floor, other senators must. That's why the ACLU is actively encouraging Senator Dodd and every other member of the Senate to stand for freedom by standing in the path of the dangerous bill Harry Reid plans to bring to the floor.

Passing a bad bill - even with a few cosmetic changes - is just plain wrong. Tell Harry Reid you're sick and tired of the Senate's endless dithering around on this issue. What's so hard about standing up to a President whose popularity is sinking like a rock? What's so hard about standing up for the Constitution?

Sign our urgent petition to Senator Reid.

We can't let Congress wear us down on this issue - disappointing us time and time again until we have no expectation for progress at all. Whether you've signed a dozen FISA petitions in the last six months or never acted on this crucial issue, we need you to act now.

I promise you this: With you by our side, the ACLU will work until the last vote is cast to stop legislation that grants telecom immunity or allows warrantless wiretapping that violates the Fourth Amendment. And if our legislators on Capitol Hill won't stand up for the Constitution - if Congress once again fails freedom - we'll take our challenge to the courts.

Please stand with us. Tell Harry Reid now that the Senate has no business voting on a dangerous and unconstitutional bill that lets law-breakers off the hook and allows spying on Americans without a warrant.

Thanks for acting at this critical moment.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero

Executive Director, ACLU

P.S. According to reports from our Washington office, the Senate could take up a spying bill as early as Wednesday. Once you've signed our petition, can you follow-up with a phone call to your senators?

Call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Urge your senators to oppose any FISA bill with retroactive telecom immunity and any bill that allows the government to spy on Americans' phone calls and emails without warrants.

© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004

executive_director@aclu.org