<<< Date Index >>>     <<< Thread Index >>>

[IP] Republicans push thru unlimited wiretap powers for Bush





Begin forwarded message:

From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger@xxxxxxx>
Date: September 14, 2006 2:15:53 AM JST
To: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Republicans push thru unlimited wiretap powers for Bush

Limits to Surveillance Bill Blocked

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8K428700.html

By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press Writer

September 13,2006 | WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans blocked Democratic attempts to rein in President Bush's domestic wiretapping program Wednesday amid a sustained White House campaign to give the administration broad authority to monitor, interrogate and prosecute terrorism suspects.

While refusing to give the president a blank check to prosecute the war on terrorism, Republicans in the Senate Judiciary Committee kept to the White House's condition that a bill giving legal status to the surveillance program pass unamended.

By voice vote and roll calls, Republicans defeated Democratic amendments to insert a one-year expiration date into the bill and require the National Security Agency to report more often to Congress on the standards for its domestic surveillance program.

"We just don't want to see Americans' rights abused for the next 50 or 60 years because of an oversight on our part," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who joined some Republicans in opposing some amendments offered by her Democratic colleagues.



But Republicans countered that the bill represented the best deal on the matter and should not be amended -- conforming with the White House's condition that Bush would sign it into law if passed unchanged.

The deal is part of the White House's election-season campaign to preserve its ability to fight the war on terror despite congressional concerns about civil liberties.

<snip>


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Robert J. Berger - Internet Bandwidth Development, LLC.
Voice: 408-882-4755 eFax: +1-408-490-2868
http://www.ibd.com





-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To manage your subscription, go to
 http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/