House OKs FISA, telco immunity, Senate next

The U.S. Senate this week is likely to quickly approve the updated Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act with telco immunity included after the House of Representatives found almost 300 votes in support of the measure. The House approved the act, which now includes conditional immunity if telcos can show written proof from the Bush administration that they were told their wiretapping actions were legal, by a vote of 293-129, which of course means many Democrats finally were won over but what the rest of them view as a barely watered-down version of the FISA bills they had collectively opposed for many months.

Earlier this spring, it seemed like that ongoing united opposition and the emergence of other critical issues on the national scene, such as the presidential election, gas prices and overall economic woes, might eventually turn matters in the favor of Democrats who demanded that new legislation not include telco immunity What made their patience finally whither?

For more:
- check out this coverage at The Washington Post

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