Senate takes up spying powers bill without immunity deal

The Senate on Monday voted 76-10 to begin debate on legislation that would limit the Bush administration's anti-terrorism spying powers, as lawmakers and aides scrambled behind the scenes to prepare amendments and find common ground.

The Senate agreed to take up a bill approved by the Intelligence Committee to overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. A competing bill approved by the Judiciary Committee will be offered as an amendment during floor debate.

Significantly, the Intelligence measure would give telecommunications companies retroactive legal immunity for helping the Bush administration spy on U.S. citizens without warrants dating back to September 2001. The Judiciary bill does not include any protections for the companies, which face about 40 civil lawsuits.

Intelligence ranking Republican Christopher (Kit) Bond of Missouri called his panel's measure "an extremely delicate arrangement of compromises" that "won't become law" if many changes are made to it. He noted that a temporary law to overhaul FISA expires in early February, creating a tight timeframe to conference a final bill with the House.

The White House supports the Senate Intelligence measure and has threatened to veto a competing bill pushed through by House Democrats.

Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., led an unsuccessful effort to prevent the Senate from beginning debate on the Intelligence measure. "The bill is deeply flawed and I am very disappointed by the decision to take it up on the floor rather than the better bill reported by the Judiciary Committee," Feingold said.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he expects debate on four amendments and hopes to seek a vote on final passage Tuesday.

Senators and their aides on Monday were in behind-the-scenes negotiations on several amendments. Bond and Intelligence Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., were trying to reach agreement on two issues. An aide said one issue focuses on making changes to language that would require the Bush administration to get a court warrant in order to conduct surveillance against a U.S. resident traveling or living abroad.

The other issue focuses on softening a requirement under which the administration would have to keep records and report to Congress every time the communications of a U.S. resident were intercepted.

Republicans want to allow the administration to discard records that are irrelevant to terrorism investigations.

Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he would make some changes to his panel's measure and then offer it as an amendment. Dodd said he would offer an amendment to strike language giving the telecom companies retroactive legal immunity.

Rockefeller said he would join forces with Leahy to push language requiring all provisions in the FISA bill to expire in four years.

In a related matter, Reid on Sunday sent Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a letter asking for every senator to be given access to key legal documents concerning the telecom companies' role in warrantless spying activities.