Kick that FISA can down the road, Steny!

Submitted by lambert on Tue, 2008-05-20 11:03.

House and Senate leaders will attempt to negotiate a final deal to change the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act this week, but their success is far from guaranteed.

For weeks, House Majority Leader Hoyer has said he hoped to strike a compromise on FISA legislation before the recess. But he has faced major obstacles in bridging a divide in his Caucus.

Liberal lawmakers want greater controls on how the government conducts electronic surveillance and they do not support giving blanket retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the Bush administration conduct electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens without warrants.

Moderate and conservative Democrats, including some Blue Dogs, have expressed support for a Senate-passed FISA bill, which would essentially dismiss about 40 lawsuits against the telecommunications companies.

Some Blue Dogs threatened to support a discharge petition that would force a House vote on the Senate bill if Hoyer cannot strike a compromise by the end of this week.

Senate Republicans, led by Senate Intelligence ranking member Christopher (Kit) Bond, sent Hoyer proposed compromise FISA language last week. The language would allow the secret FISA court to determine if the telecoms should be granted immunity.

Speaking last week, Hoyer said the idea of having the FISA court determine immunity “is certainly one that is on the table” but indicated that House Democrats want to ensure that the administration is held accountable for its actions.

Faced with the uncertainty of reaching a deal, Hoyer suggested that a compromise might not be reached until Aug. 1.

“I don’t think there is a deadline,” he said. “If we could get it done next week, I would be happy, but the discussions are still ongoing.”