By Walter Alarkon
The Hill
Thursday 24 January 2008
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urged President Bush on Wednesday to support a one-month extension of an interim foreign-intelligence surveillance law that expires on Feb. 1.
In a letter to Bush, Reid wrote that it is doubtful the Senate can pass its update of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by the expiration date. The House passed a Democratic-written bill last fall that strengthened the oversight powers of the court that has traditionally held jurisdiction over foreign-intelligence surveillance on U.S. soil.
Democrats and the White House are at loggerheads over whether to include in the Senate bill immunity for the telecommunications companies that participated in the government's domestic warrantless wiretapping programs after Sept. 11, 2001. There are roughly 40 lawsuits pending against the carriers at present. There is also disagreement along partisan lines on whether to require Congress's reauthorization of the program.
The House bill does not contain any immunity provision, while the base bill awaiting Senate action does. But several Senate Democrats are planning to alter, if not strike, the immunity language through the amendment process. A temporary extension of the GOP-backed interim bill, passed last summer over the objections of many Democrats, would effectively buy them more time.
"The legislative process on this critical issue should neither be rushed, nor tainted by political gamesmanship," Reid wrote.
While Reid is hoping for more time, he will bring the FISA bill to the floor for a debate Thursday, his office said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday reiterated the administration's call for a permanent FISA extension along with immunity for telecommunications companies. Bush has said he would veto any bill that does not include immunity. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed and said he opposes a temporary extension of the program without first considering a permanent one.
Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, Cheney said that failing to reauthorize FISA would have "predictable and serious consequences."
"Our ability to monitor al Qaeda terrorists will begin to degrade - and that, we simply cannot tolerate," he said.
Efforts to pass the Senate FISA bill stalled in December when Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) pledged to filibuster any measure that provided phone companies with immunity. Reid pulled the bill from the floor so the Senate could finish its other work.
Dodd on Wednesday again said that he would work to defeat any efforts that included such protections.
"I'm just not going to give them a free pass," Dodd said.
Before filibustering, he said he would support an amendment that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) plans to offer that would strengthen the FISA court and does not include immunity for the carriers. Leahy's amendment is based on the bill passed by the Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. He would not say on Wednesday whether he would support a filibuster by Dodd.
The current bill up for consideration, approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee, includes immunity for phone companies as long as they received written requests from the administration for assistance. Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday he is confident that there are enough votes to thwart a filibuster and pass the current bill before the end of the week.
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) plans to offer a compromise bill that would have the government replace the carriers as the defendant in the lawsuits. Rockefeller, however, said he thought the compromise would fail.
The Hill
Thursday 24 January 2008
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urged President Bush on Wednesday to support a one-month extension of an interim foreign-intelligence surveillance law that expires on Feb. 1.
In a letter to Bush, Reid wrote that it is doubtful the Senate can pass its update of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by the expiration date. The House passed a Democratic-written bill last fall that strengthened the oversight powers of the court that has traditionally held jurisdiction over foreign-intelligence surveillance on U.S. soil.
Democrats and the White House are at loggerheads over whether to include in the Senate bill immunity for the telecommunications companies that participated in the government's domestic warrantless wiretapping programs after Sept. 11, 2001. There are roughly 40 lawsuits pending against the carriers at present. There is also disagreement along partisan lines on whether to require Congress's reauthorization of the program.
The House bill does not contain any immunity provision, while the base bill awaiting Senate action does. But several Senate Democrats are planning to alter, if not strike, the immunity language through the amendment process. A temporary extension of the GOP-backed interim bill, passed last summer over the objections of many Democrats, would effectively buy them more time.
"The legislative process on this critical issue should neither be rushed, nor tainted by political gamesmanship," Reid wrote.
While Reid is hoping for more time, he will bring the FISA bill to the floor for a debate Thursday, his office said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday reiterated the administration's call for a permanent FISA extension along with immunity for telecommunications companies. Bush has said he would veto any bill that does not include immunity. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed and said he opposes a temporary extension of the program without first considering a permanent one.
Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, Cheney said that failing to reauthorize FISA would have "predictable and serious consequences."
"Our ability to monitor al Qaeda terrorists will begin to degrade - and that, we simply cannot tolerate," he said.
Efforts to pass the Senate FISA bill stalled in December when Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) pledged to filibuster any measure that provided phone companies with immunity. Reid pulled the bill from the floor so the Senate could finish its other work.
Dodd on Wednesday again said that he would work to defeat any efforts that included such protections.
"I'm just not going to give them a free pass," Dodd said.
Before filibustering, he said he would support an amendment that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) plans to offer that would strengthen the FISA court and does not include immunity for the carriers. Leahy's amendment is based on the bill passed by the Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. He would not say on Wednesday whether he would support a filibuster by Dodd.
The current bill up for consideration, approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee, includes immunity for phone companies as long as they received written requests from the administration for assistance. Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday he is confident that there are enough votes to thwart a filibuster and pass the current bill before the end of the week.
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) plans to offer a compromise bill that would have the government replace the carriers as the defendant in the lawsuits. Rockefeller, however, said he thought the compromise would fail.
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