US News
House passes eavesdropping bill despite Bush veto threat
Mar 14, 2008, 19:18 GMT
Washington - The US House of Representatives passed a terrorist surveillance bill Friday that President George W Bush has pledged to veto because it does not protect phone companies who cooperate with the government without court approval.
The Democrat-controlled House refused to grant lawsuit immunity to telecoms cooperating in the secret monitoring of phone calls or emails of suspected foreign terrorists passing through the United States. The House approved the measure by a 213-197 vote.
Bush backs an adopted Senate measure that protects telecommunications firms from helping eavesdrop without a approval from a judge. The House wants court approval before the companies can be protected.
The Senate and House must now meet to reconcile differences between their two bills. Bush on Thursday said the House bill harmed the ability of the US government to gather information to protect the nation's security.
A temporary surveillance measure expired last month after it passed the Senate but was held up by the opposition Democrats in the House.
'Companies that may have helped us save lives should be thanked for their patriotic service not subjected to billion-dollar lawsuits that will make them less willing to help in the future,' Bush said in a statement Thursday.
The Senate last month approved the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known as FISA, to allow secret wiretaps.
The White House has warned that intelligence may already have been lost in the absence of the programme since last month.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Just freaking bug all phones and lets try to catch these islamic vermin in the act of planning attacks.
Than can we please deport ALL muslims from our nation?
It needs to happen sooner or later.
Look what the islamic filth have done to Western Europe and now they are trying to do it here in America.
Muslims out now.
Are we to expect that our communications are sacrosanct in the face of an enemy that is so successful in exploiting our weaknesses?
Is the Constitution a suicide pact?
I see the Hungry Crusader and SP4 are contributing their hallucinations with us again .Did the doctor give you a day off,crusader ?
...other than some empty insults, Tonny cannot answer my questions with an intelligent response.
SP4.....'Are we to expect that our communications are sacrosanct in the face of an enemy that is so successful in exploiting our weaknesses?
Is the Constitution a suicide pact?'
No it is not, but millions of us are not ready for 'your kind' to start changing the constitution. No matter what your redneck words say, you only want to change things you do not agree with. With your revisions, lets revise and take gun ownership against the law????
I don't wish to revise the Constitution for this purpose. I contend it already allows us to do this. This is because it does.
Why do you think this bill is so contentious? The law already allows this kind of eavesdropping. What it also allows is for anyone to sue the compaines who are cooperating with the authorities to be hauled into civil court.
This, of course, is the whole point: libnazis cannot openly stand for their real beliefs, so they use their trial lawyer gestapo to institutionalize their beliefs in the tort courts. If not, why not just pass a restrictive bill? After all, they are the so called leaders in the Congress now, right?
I would revise the Constitution to reflect an enemy who is sanctioned by sovereign nations, crosses borders with impunity and acts as an enemy combatant, while being a saboteur, and is protected by the Geneva accords. This would reflect the world as it is today.
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impeach the stupic c-word.Mar 14th, 2008 - 21:59:10
Nancy Pelosi isn't going to be happy until more Americans are killed by islamist terrorists.
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