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fisa

Congress to revisit expanded spy law next week

Congressional Democrats don't plan to waste much time in revisiting a temporary expansion of federal eavesdropping law that has met with hostility in privacy and civil liberties circles.

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Wednesday afternoon said it plans to hold a hearing on September 5--that is, the day after politicians return from their August recess--to begin exploring, well, changes to the changes to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, better known as FISA.

According to committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), the move is in part a response to misgivings by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She has said … Read more

Democrats press Bush to respond to FISA, surveillance requests

Top Democrats in Congress have come up with a strategy to force President Bush to respond to their unanswered questions about the National Security Agency's surveillance program. They seem to be saying: Unless you do, we may not renew your eavesdropping legislation you like so much. Scroll down for the letter they sent yesterday.

It's an interesting approach because it's designed to force Bush to choose what he dislikes the least--more disclosure of a broad and arguably illegal NSA wiretapping plan, or increased legal risk and decreased powers for his surveillance-industrial complex.

Bush can counter, of course, … Read more