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Vol. 72/No. 9      March 3, 2008

 
U.S. Senate approves spy bill
 
BY VED DOOKHUN  
A bill broadening the government’s surveillance and eavesdropping powers was approved by the U.S. Senate February 12. The 68-29 vote reflects the bipartisan support for government spying. President George Bush called on the Democratic-led House to also approve the bill before wiretapping powers temporarily granted the government last year expired February 15.

House Democratic leaders tried to obtain a 21-day reprieve to negotiate before the deadline but were defeated. Democrats insisted that the lapse would have no impact on eavesdropping. Currently intelligence officials can spy on communications of “terrorist” groups for a year after winning initial permission. Until the new legislation is passed the government will have to get a warrant through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to spy on any additional groups.

The Senate bill increases many of the surveillance powers granted under the FISA amendment act passed by Congress last August. It gives the government broader power to eavesdrop on foreign communications without a warrant as long as American citizens are not targets.

Under last year’s law, the governments’ foreign spying program was placed under the supervision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. This secret court was set up in the Justice Department under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance act sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy. In 26 years, the court has rejected only five of 19,000 government requests for wiretaps or searches.

For months the White House had been pushing for legal immunity for phone companies that aided government spying on U.S. citizens without warrants after Sept. 11, 2001. This provision is contained in the Senate bill. Some 40 lawsuits have been filed by customers against AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint Nextel for violating the law and privacy obligations.

“This, I believe is the right way to go for the security of the nation,” said Senator John D. Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who leads the intelligence committee and supports the immunity provision.

In the Senate Republican presidential contender John McCain voted in favor of the final measure, while the two leading Democratic candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, did not vote. The Clinton campaign issued a statement that she would have voted against the final measure.
 
 
Related articles:
N.Y. cop ‘terror’ squads, dogs to patrol subways
Gov’t retries Liberty City 7 on ‘terror’ charges
Pentagon seeks military trials for six ‘enemy combatants’  
 
 
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