Danger, Will Robinson! Danger, Will Robinson!
Posted on 11/12/2006 4:19:37 AM PST by KeyLargo
Durbin Asks Bush To Put Partisanship Behind Him
Bob Roberts Reporting
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- The Democrats are talking co-operation with President Bush, but already there is evidence that controversial legislation backed by the Bush administration won't move forward.
WBBM's Bob Roberts reports.
President Bush has asked the lame-duck Congress to give him legislation that would specifically authorize the wiretapping of foreign phone calls and computer traffic of suspected terrorists.
The issue came up Friday during a meeting hosted by the President with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Instead, Durbin told WBBM Saturday, he is asking Mr. Bush to try something less controversial.
"We need to find more partnership and put behind the partisanship of the past," Durbin said. "I think we can do it. I suggested yesterday in the meeting, let's have some confidence-builders. Take some issues out that we agree on first and let's get them passed to prove to the American people that we can come together."
Durbin said agreement could come in areas where they has been confrontation in the past, such as judicial nominees.
"We encouraged him to send us moderate, centrist people and we would gladly approve them -- and do it quickly," he said.
Durbin made it clear he would rather wait until next year to look at more controversial issues.
"We just don't want to break down into a fight," he said. "There are so many things we need to do for this country and this economy."
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Mr. Bush ordered the National Security Agency to monitor communications potentially related to al-Qaida between people in the U.S. and those overseas. He bypassed normal requirements for court approval of such eavesdropping, and the program came under harsh criticism after it was disclosed last December by The New York Times.
Democrats and Republicans on the intelligence and judiciary committees spent much of the year trying to find out details from the administration, to little avail. Much of the information is classified, and the White House has insisted that revealing it would mean compromising the war on terrorism.
The House passed a bill in September to allow warrantless wiretaps under certain restrictions. House and Senate intelligence committees and congressional leaders would have to be notified, the president would have to believe that a terrorist attack is imminent, and certification would have to be renewed every 90 days.
A Republican measure in the Senate favored by the administration would require the Justice Department to report twice a year to the House and Senate intelligence committees the number and kind of any such operations. It would permit the surveillance to continue for up to one year without a warrant. --- The House bill is H.R. 5825; the Senate bill is S. 3931.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
We'll be reading many more AP sourced butt kisser articles for the next 2 years at least. I am so happy I do not subscribe to any of these left wing soapbox orgs any more. The AP is the worst.
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