The ACLU explains its opposition to the Intelligence Reform Bill:

Although pleased that most of Mr. Sensenbrenner's toughest provisions were stripped out of the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement Monday that it opposed the overall measure because it "would centralize the intelligence community's surveillance powers, increasing the likelihood for government abuses."

The civil liberties union said it was alarmed by several provisions in the bill, including those that would expand the government's wiretap authority, and by the limited powers given to the independent privacy and civil liberties board created under the legislation. The board, it said, "risks becoming the proverbial fox guarding the hen house - the board would be appointed by the president, serve at his pleasure and have no subpoena power."