House Rejects Democratic Spy Bill
Friday, August 3, 2007 10:12 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By LARA JAKES JORDAN

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress and the White House struggled Friday over expanding authority to eavesdrop on suspected foreign terrorists in a high-stakes showdown over national security.

The House rejected a Democratic proposal opposed by President Bush that would give him that authority for only four months. The largely party-line vote in favor of the bill was 218-207, short of the two-thirds majority needed under rules limiting debate.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, prepared to concede to a bill supported by the White House limiting that authority to six months. It also would allow the director of national intelligence and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to carry out the expanded eavesdropping for four months before a court signs off on it.

The House vote left the bill's fate in doubt.

"I hope that there are no attacks before we are able to effectively update this important act," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.

Bush earlier Friday coupled his demand for legislation with a threat to veto any bill that his intelligence director deemed unable "to prevent an attack on the country."

"We've worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk," Bush said after meeting with counterterror and homeland security officials at FBI headquarters. "Time is short."

Presidents have authority to call Congress back in session from a recess, but the last time it was used was in 1948, by Harry Truman.

The Bush administration began pressing for changes to the law after a recent ruling by the secret FISA court that barred the government from eavesdropping on foreign suspects whose messages were being routed through U.S. communications carriers, including Internet sites.

Negotiators spent Friday trying to narrow differences between what Bush wanted and Democrats' demand for court approval before intelligence agents get expanded authority to tap into overseas phone calls and Internet traffic of suspected terrorists.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the administration plan "more likely to protect the American people against terrorist attacks by those who want to do us harm."

Current law requires court review of government surveillance of suspected terrorists in the United States. It does not specifically address the government's ability to intercept messages believed to come from foreigners overseas — what the White House calls a significant gap in preventing attacks planned abroad.

Senate Democrats backed off their initial demands to have the surveillance process reviewed by the FISA court before overseas eavesdropping without warrants could begin. Instead, the bill headed for passage there largely mirrors what the Bush administration wanted. It would require:

—Initial approval by Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The White House agreed to add McConnell after Democrats balked at giving that authority to Gonzales alone.

—FISA court review within 120 days. The final Democratic plan had called for court review to begin immediately and concluded within a month after the surveillance started.

—The law to expire in six months to give Congress time to craft a more comprehensive plan.