Reply #86: Bush urges Congress to pass wiretap bill [View All]

[L. Coyote]

Bush urges Congress to pass wiretap bill
Lawmakers hustle to act before recess
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | August 3, 2007
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/08/03/bush_urges_congress_to_pass_wiretap_bill/


WASHINGTON -- Congress is rushing to expand the military's authority to wiretap phone calls and e-mails on US soil. The Bush administration, warning that terrorists may soon attack again, is pressuring lawmakers to approve the legislation before they leave town this weekend for their annual August vacations.

The proposal, the details of which remain murky, had received little public discussion before this week and has not undergone the normal committee review process. It would apparently give the National Security Agency legal approval to resume one type of the warrantless wiretapping that President Bush authorized after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The White House says the legislation is necessary to give the spy agency the ability to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists without court-approved warrants. Leaders in the Democratic-controlled Congress say they are willing to pass a version of the bill, and have spent the week in closed-door negotiations on the details.

But civil liberties groups urged Congress to slow down. Democrats have said the anticipated legislation will expire in several months, but the American Civil Liberties Union warned that such laws often end up on the books permanently. ......