Senate Logjammed on Surveillance Bill

Source: Associated Press

The Senate voted Monday against extending the eavesdropping law beyond Feb. 1, increasing political pressure to pass a new version of the bill this week.

The existing law will expire Feb. 1, a deadline the White House, intelligence officials and congressional Republicans are using to push the Senate into adopting a bill that would also protect from civil lawsuits the telecommunications companies that allowed their customers to be wiretapped without court approval.

The Senate vote was 48-45, 12 votes short of the 60 needed to extend the law. Also on Monday, House Democratic leaders delayed until Tuesday a vote on whether to extend the law.

(snip)
The expiration of the law is more of a political deadline than a practical one, congressional Democrats say. All existing electronic surveillance activities can continue uninterrupted for at least a year from their commencement.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080128/ap_on_go_co/terrorist_surveillance_1

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Glenn Greenwald Today's FISA vote
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/01/28/fisa_debate/index.html

up for a vote. He made the wrong choice. It is his fault.

all of a sudden he is against telecom immunity. wonder what happened?

Reid has bungled before, and as far as Pelosi, neither has done right by the US Constitution..I can't stand either one of them.

Rockefeller, all of whom SUPPORTED telecom immunity voted against it. Something happened to change their minds.

Why are they finally sticking up for constitutional rights?

I wonder if the WH document release outlining what Telecoms are actually doing had anything to do with it.

Senators feeling like they were being lied to?

Here's the vote: http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00002#position

due to unpaid bills. Has that been resolved?

The Democrats stood up to Bush and even won. I was so worried they'd cave again. Now if they can just hang on and hold out for a better bill we'll finally have a victory over Bush and on a most important matter too.

WAY TO GO DEMOCRATS!!

...but a hard time!

Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 3911 to S. 2248 )
Vote Number: 3 Vote Date: January 28, 2008, 04:43 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Cloture Motion Rejected
Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 3911 to S. 2248 (FISA Amendments Act of 2007)
Statement of Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.
Vote Counts: YEAs 48
NAYs 45
Not Voting 7
In the end, four Dems crossed over to vote with the Republicans: Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) was the lone Republican to vote with the Dems.
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/005158.php

Not Voting - 7
Coburn (R-OK)
Dole (R-NC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Harkin (D-IA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
McCain (R-AZ)
Nelson (D-FL)

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00003

(snip)
Nearly 40 lawsuits have been filed accusing AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp of violating Americans' privacy rights in helping the government's warrantless domestic spying program.

On back-to-back votes, Democrats blocked a move to bring the bill up for a vote on passage, and Republicans stopped a bid to extend the law for 30 days.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, suggested the law be extended a month or more, perhaps even into the middle of next year when there will be a new president, to give both sides time to resolve differences.

"There is no reason to vote against an extension -- or for the president to veto one -- except for political posturing," Reid said.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-usa-congress-telecoms.html