Senate postpones consideration of spy bill
By Thomas Ferraro
28 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Monday abruptly postponed until next month consideration of a measure to give immunity to telephone companies that participated in President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program.
"Everyone feels it would be to the best interest of the Senate that we take a look at this when we come back after the first of the year," Reid, facing a pile of unfinished work, said on the Senate floor.
Reid's surprise announcement came hours after Bush's demand for immunity for the companies won an initial victory. The Senate voted 76-10 to clear a procedural hurdle and move toward consideration of the bill.
The legislation would also bolster judicial oversight of federal surveillance of suspected terrorists. But Senate leaders were unable to agree on a schedule to vote on possible amendments as well as passage of the bill before Congress wraps up it work for the year, likely on Friday.
"We have tried to work through this process, and it appears quite clear at this stage on this bill we're not going to be able to do that," Reid said.
The Senate on Tuesday is expected to take up a massive, catchall spending bill to keep the government running and provide additional funds for the Iraq war.
The Senate also aims to complete a number of other bills before calling it quits for the year. Reid said the Senate would return to the surveillance bill when the 2008 session of Congress begins in mid-January.
Bush has demanded retroactive immunity for any telecommunication company that participated in his warrantless spying program begun shortly after the September 11 attacks.
MANY LAWSUITS
Nearly 40 lawsuits have been filed accusing AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel Corp. of violating U.S. privacy rights.
Backers of immunity contend companies should be thanked, not punished, for helping defend the United States.
But critics argue the courts should determine if any company violated privacy rights of law-abiding Americans.
Democrats had vowed to try to strip out the immunity provision. A possible alternative was to hold the government rather than the companies liable for any damages.
Sen. Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, interrupted his long-shot presidential campaign to return to Washington to lead the charge against immunity. "For the last six years, our largest telecommunication companies have been spying on their own American customers," Dodd said.
"That decision betrayed million of customers' trust," Dodd added. "But was it illegal? I don't know. And if this bill passes in its current form, we will never know."
The White House said in a statement, "Providing liability protection to these companies is a just result" and warned that allowing litigation "risks the disclosure of highly classified information regarding intelligence sources and methods."
The House of Representatives last month defied Bush and refused to shield phone companies from lawsuits. Both chambers would have to agree to immunity before it could be granted.
