Spy bill extension blocked

Spy bill extension blocked

The House last week refused to extend a law that would have made it easier for the federal government to intercept foreign e-mails and phone calls that pass through the U.S. The bill, which the Senate had already approved, would have briefly extended a one-year law passed last August that had expanded the government’s eavesdropping powers. It also gave legal immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the government tap computer and phone lines. The extension was intended to give legislators time to negotiate a compromise on the telecom liability issue.

But Democrats scuttled the extension, objecting to the expanded eavesdropping powers as well as to the legal protections for the telecom companies. President Bush said that because of the House’s inaction on the measure, “our country is more in danger of an attack.” Democrats accused Bush of fear mongering. “This is not about protecting Americans,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat. “The president just wants to protect American telephone companies.”

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