January 23, 2008

Senate Resumes Sparring Over FISA; Cheney Pushes For Renewal

UPDATED.

Vice President Dick Cheney today urged Congress to pass legislation that permanently addresses the nation's surveillance law and shields telecommunications companies from lawsuits for helping the Bush administration spy on U.S. citizens without court warrants. Cheney made his remarks in a short speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation, just as the Senate was moving toward resuming debate on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act legislation. CongressDailyPM (subscription) has details on Cheney's remarks.

The opening salvo over FISA renewal was fired yesterday in the Senate, as Democratic leaders sought more time to craft legislation while the White House and Republicans ramped up pressure for immediate action.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Republicans late yesterday for another month to craft permanent legislation to overhaul FISA; a temporary law making changes to the bill expires Feb. 1. Reid said more time was needed for lawmakers to work out their differences and to conference with the House. "It's not fair to the House to jam them so that they have one day to act on this," Reid said.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell objected to an extension, saying "there is a significant amount of time left this month to pass this bill in the Senate and a conference may or may not be necessary."

"I think the discussion of extension here, particularly when, hopefully, we will turn to this bill in the very near future here in the Senate is not timely and, therefore, I object," he said.

Reid called the GOP's opposition to a time extension an obstruction and "an irresponsible way to approach national security legislation." But a McConnell aide said, "Two committees have acted and there is a bipartisan bill available now for floor action," referring to the bill approved 13-2 by the Senate Intelligence Committee last fall. A competing bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee along a party-line vote.

Without an agreement for an extension, Reid said the Senate must pass FISA legislation this week, with the bulk of floor debate expected to play out Thursday. "If people think they're going to talk this to death, we're going to be in here all night," Reid said. "If someone wants to filibuster this bill, they're going to do it in the openness of the Senate."

Reid said he had received a commitment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the House would act next week on final legislation.

Reid said he plans to bring the intelligence committee's measure to the floor for debate. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he will offer that panel's measure as an amendment to it.

Republicans and the White House back the intelligence panel's version. It would give retroactive legal immunity to telecommunication companies that helped the Bush administration spy on U.S. citizens without warrants dating back to September 2001, as long as those companies received written requests for assistance from the administration. The Judiciary measure, which is supported by liberal Democrats and civil and privacy liberties groups, does not give any protections to the companies, who face about 40 civil lawsuits. Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., are expected to offer amendments that would substitute the government for the companies in the lawsuits.

The White House has threatened to veto any bill that does not include immunity for the companies. "The terrorist threat we face does not expire on February 1," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "For the sake of our national security, Congress must act now to send the president a bill that keeps a critical intelligence gap permanently closed and provides meaningful liability protection for companies that may have assisted in efforts to defend America following the 9/11 attacks," she said.

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ranking member Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., said passing that panel's bill is "the only responsible action for Congress to take."

-Chris Strohm, CongressDaily

Posted at 3:30 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, Senate, Terrorism
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