The House of Representatives passes the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (“FAA”). As Ars Technica reported: "When the votes were tallied, just under half of House Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the bill. Floor debate on the measure, which expands executive branch surveillance authority and provides retroactive amnesty for telecoms implicated in warrantless NSA wiretapping, consisted largely of mutual congratulation. There were, however, a few sour notes during the proceedings. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) complained that the bill 'actually permits the government to perform mass, untargeted surveillance of any and all conversations believed to be coming into and out of the United States, without any individualized finding, and without a requirement that wrongdoing is believed to be involved at all.'"