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December 2, 2008 10:09:56 AM CST

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Senate Yields to White House on Eavesdropping

Posted Feb 12, 08 6:41 PM CST in Politics,  Technology 

(Newser) – The Senate passed a bill today to expand the government's wiretapping powers and to grant immunity to phone companies that aided the government in post-9/11 investigations, the Washington Post reports. That translates into a big victory for the White House, notes the New York Times. The bill now goes to the House, which rejected immunity, for negotiations.

Though the bill, an update to a 1978 surveillance law, would grant Bush’s wishes, it would also extend the powers of a court established that year to regulate eavesdropping. Senators voted 68-29 to pass the bill despite two months of disagreements over balancing civil liberties and surveillance.

Sources Washington Post, New York Times

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. right, looks on as Senator Christopher Bond, R-Mo., discusses Senate action on the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Tuesday, Feb. 12,2008, during...   (Associated Press)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. discusses Senate action on the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Tuesday, Feb. 12,2008, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP...   (Associated Press)
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft talks to reporters after meeting with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence about the controversy regarding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,...   (Associated Press)
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