Congress extends surveillance law another 15 days

The House and Senate approve the extension by voice votes

By Elizabeth Montalbano

January 30, 2008 12:00 PM ET

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IT Monkey says: that the GOP actually read and understand intelligent things like the constitution. Remember, their idiot in chief called the constitution...

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Tranman says: The Constitution. The Bill of Rights. Repeat as necessary until you understand....

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IDG News Service - Following an appeal from President George W. Bush on Monday, Congress has granted a temporary extension to a controversial law that allows the U.S. government to conduct telephone surveillance on suspected terrorists.

On Tuesday, Congress voted to extend for 15 days The Protect America Act, which allows the National Security Agency to intercept phone calls and e-mail of suspected terrorists without first obtaining a court warrant. The act was due to expire Friday, but Bush called for its extension during his final State of the Union address.

The debate to extend the act was led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). His efforts to extend the act for 30 days began Monday; by late Tuesday, Congress decided on a 15-day extension by a voice vote. Some Democratic lawmakers were in favor of only a temporary extension because they wanted time to consider a more permanent measure.

Bush and some Republican lawmakers were hoping for longer extension of the act, which also provides legal protection for telecommunications carriers that are cooperating with the NSA. Without protection, the carriers face privacy lawsuits from those under surveillance.

The Protect America Act has been surrounded by controversy since Bush signed it in August. Congress is expected to continue debating whether to renew the act or to give carriers immunity from legal proceedings -- or compromise on some combination of both -- during the 15-day extension period.

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