The Democratic-led US Congress yielded approved legislation to temporarily expand the government’s power to conduct electronic surveillance without a court order.
WASHINTON: The Democratic-led US Congress yielded to President George W Bush on Saturday and approved legislation to temporarily expand the government’s power to conduct electronic surveillance without a court order in tracking foreign suspects.
Civil liberties groups charged the measure would create a broad net that would sweep up law-abiding US citizens. But the House of Representatives gave its concurrence to the bill, 227-183, a day after it won Senate approval, 60-28.
“After months of prodding by House Republicans, Congress has finally closed the terrorist loophole in our surveillance law — and America will be the safer for it,” declared House Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican.
“We think it is not the bill that ought to pass,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
But Hoyer conceded he and fellow Democrats were unable to stop the measure after a showdown with the White House amid warnings of possible attacks on the United States.
With lawmakers set to begin a month-long recess this weekend, Bush had called on them to stay until they passed the legislation.
“Protecting America is our most solemn obligation,” Bush said earlier in the day in urging Congress to send him the bill so he could sign it into law.
The measure would authorise the National Security Agency to intercept without a court order communications between people in the United States and foreign targets overseas.
The administration would have to submit to a secret court a description of the procedures they used to determine that warrantless surveillance only targeted people outside the US.
The court, created by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), would review the procedures and order changes, if needed. The administration could appeal.
FISA now requires the government to obtain orders from its court to conduct surveillance of suspected terrorists in the US.
But after the September 11 attacks, Bush authorised warrantless interception of communications between people in the US and others overseas if one had suspected terrorist ties.
The measure is to expire in six months. Lawmakers are to come up with permanent legislation in the meantime.
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