Bush opposes extension of spy program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush onWednesday vowed to veto another temporary extension of adomestic spying law and pressed Congress for a long-term fix toshield phone companies that cooperated with his warrantlesseavesdropping program.

But the House of Representatives was prepared to defy Bushand vote itself three more weeks to review a White House-backedbill passed by the Democratic-led Senate on Tuesday that wouldgrant phone companies retroactive immunity for having aidedBush's anti-terrorism effort.

"The time for debate is over," Bush told reporters in theOval Office. "I will not accept any temporary extension."

Democrats who control House said they needed up to threeweeks to review and possibly offer revisions to the Senate'sbill, which would put into law the government's expanded powersto track communications between terrorism suspects.

The bill would also shield telecommunication companies frompotentially billions of dollars in civil damages.

About 40 civil lawsuits have been filed accusing AT&T Inc,Verizon Communications Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp of violatingAmericans' privacy rights by helping the warrantless domesticspying program that Bush secretly began shortly after theSeptember 11 attacks.

The Senate passed-bill would replace the 6-month-oldProtect America Act, set to expire on Saturday, that broadenedthe ability of U.S. authorities to eavesdrop on enemy targetswithout a court order. It also provides new protection of civilliberties of Americans swept up in the hunt for terrorists.

Heated debate over the eavesdropping law comes in anelection year in which Bush and his fellow Republicans want touse issues such as domestic spying to paint the Democrats asweak on counterterrorism and national security.

"It is time for Congress to pass a law that provides along-term foundation to protect our country and they must do soimmediately," Bush said.

He repeated his warnings that enemies of the United Stateswere plotting new attacks that would dwarf September 11, butDemocrats in Congress have insisted on better protections forAmericans' civil liberties.

WRANGLING FOR MONTHS

The White House and Congress have been wrangling for monthsover whether to make permanent a program that allowedsurveillance of communications between people in the UnitedStates and others overseas if one had suspected terrorist ties.

The most controversial provision in the bill approved bythe Senate is retroactive immunity for telecommunicationscompanies that agreed to participate in Bush's secretsurveillance program.

"If these companies are subjected to lawsuits that couldcost them billions of dollars, they won't participate, theywon't help us, they won't help protect America," Bush said.

Backers say the firms should be thanked, not punished, forhelping protect the United States. They also warn permittingthem to be sued would make it difficult to recruit privatecompanies in such efforts in the future.

Immunity foes argue the courts should decide if the phonecompanies violated the law.

The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requiresthat the government receive the approval of a secret FISA courtto conduct surveillance in the United States of suspectedforeign enemy targets.

But Bush authorized warrantless surveillance ofcommunications between people in the United States and othersoverseas if one had suspected ties to terrorists.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Matt Spetalnick, editingby Vicki Allen)