Republicans push thru unlimited wiretap powers for Bush

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ibd com>
Date: September 14, 2006 2:15:53 AM JST
To: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>, David Farber  
<dave () farber net>
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>


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Robert J. Berger - Internet Bandwidth Development, LLC.
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