Posted on 02/16/2006 1:02:52 PM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON -- Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts said he has worked out an agreement with the White House to change U.S. law regarding the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program and provide more information about it to Congress.
"We are trying to get some movement, and we have a clear indication of that movement," Roberts, R-Kan., said.
Without offering specifics, Roberts said the agreement with the White House provides "a fix" to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and offers more briefings to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The deal comes as the committee was set to have a meeting Thursday about whether to open an investigation into the hotly disputed program. Roberts indicated the deal may eliminate the need for such an inquiry. Democrats have been demanding an investigation but some Republicans don't want to tangle the panel in a testy election-year probe.
"Whether or not an investigation is the right thing to do at this particular time, I am not sure," Roberts told reporters while heading into the meeting.
The White House was not immediately available for comment on Roberts' statement.
Earlier in the day, White House spokesman Scott McClellan hinted at a "good discussion going on" with lawmakers and praised in particular "some good ideas" presented by Sen. Mike DeWine. The Ohio Republican has suggested the FISA law be changed to accommodate the NSA program.
However, McClellan left the impression that any deal would not allow for significant changes. He said the White House continued to maintain that Bush does not need Congress' approval to authorize the warrantless eavesdropping and that the president would resist any legislation that might compromise the program.
"There's kind of a high bar to overcome," McClellan said. "We think there's some good ideas, but we have not seen actual legislation."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Congress is full of stupid inept people. When you find you have stupid inept people working for you and you can't just fire them, you at least give them LESS resposibility, not MORE.
I hope the "fix" is...."We're just gonna keep on doin what we're doin and you blowhards in the Senate can just STFU!"
Now they're going to deny our intelligence agencies & President Bush more power to find & fight the terrorists.
I hope this means that shortly, We will not hear this story anymore.
Bad move by Bush.
First, this is tantamount to saying that Bush did something wrong -- he didn't. Why is he giving his enemies ammunition against himself?
Second, it gives the Congress more war powers than they need to have. Congress has the power to shut off the money flow to any war they don't like, but giving them more of a nose under the intelligence tent than they already have will be a disaster for any conservative President. Especially if the Intelligence Committee is staffed with liberals.
Third, no matter what law Congress "fixes" it is unconstitutional if it encroaches upon the war time powers of the President that's laid out in the Constitution.
Not me, the longer this thing goes on the worse the Democrats look.
Sounds like another "Signing Statement" might be attached.
No, what is occuring is that Democrats don't want hearings on anissue they are losing badly in an election year. It re-inforces their weakness on national security. RINO's realize they overshot on the issue as well, but feel they need cover since they already ran their mouths.
So Congress will "authorize" what the W.H. already does so it can feel important, and justify it's rhetorical excesses. The W.H. is allowing Congress the ability to engineer this cover for its members since foolish Republicans joined Democrats in critisism.
In the end the program continues, the W.H. does not relent on its Constitutional right to do this, and Senators retreat with tail between legs but will say to their constituents they protected their 'civil liberties' and the new useless legislation is proof.
The W.H. won this battle.
Well, to an extent. Obviously knowledge of the program has dampened its effectiveness, and the leakers need to be brought up on charges. Even if one of them is Rockefellar.
That's kinda the way I took it.
Even the skewed-left polls were showing a loser for those whining about this.
I'll be praying to The FATHER that what You said will come to pass.
They haven't looked good or respectable in 30 years.
The ONLY reason that I can see....for Bush to capitulate to the idiot Congresscritters...is to get this off his back...and to facilitate the DOJ investigation into who leaked to the NYTimes...
open an investigation might have had something to do with it
We don't want these documents to be open to all to see .. including the terrorists
I'll wait till more information is known
But it does look like Congress just screwed the american people because of their ego's and their need to know
The traitors that are leaking this classified information should be prosecuted
CONGRESS IS NOT ABOVE THE LAW !!
Duh.. we might as well "fix" it.. the program is blown wide open so it doesn't matter now anymore anyways.
Just make the fix.. the congress criters get to look good and they don't have to "worry" about the small portion of the American public that thought we needed a "fix" in the first place.
Remember, though, this is a liberal press trying to find a reason to show Bush "defeated". In the end, this will likely amount to a lot of huffing and puffing....Bush saying, "The executive branch will continue its practice. You legislators can bless it if you like. Thank you and good night."
ESPECIALLY if it is Leakyfeller.
Big Mistake for Bush to back up on this issue.
He is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and we are at war.
This war cannot be fought by committee. Especially a committee with the combined IQ of the Congress, regardless of party affiliation.
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