WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday said he would oppose another temporary extension of a law empowering U.S. spy agencies to track communications of terrorism suspects without a court order and pressed Congress for a long-term fix.
The Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that wouldenshrine into law the surveillance powers and grant retroactiveimmunity to telephone companies that took part in the Bushadministration's warrantless wiretapping program.
"It's time for Congress to ensure the flow of vitalintelligence is not disrupted," Bush told reporters in the OvalOffice on Wednesday. "It is time for Congress to pass a lawthat provides a long-term foundation to protect our country andthey must do so immediately."
However, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives,who have opposed immunity for the phone companies, could voteon another proposed extension, this one for 21 days, onWednesday, a top congressional aide said on Tuesday.
"The time for debate is over," Bush said. "I will notaccept any temporary extension."
He warned that enemies of the United States were alreadyplotting new attacks that would dwarf the September 11 attacks,however Democrats in Congress have insisted on betterprotections for Americans' civil liberties.
In the Senate measure, lawmakers did bolster the protectionof privacy rights of law-abiding Americans swept up in the huntfor suspected terrorists.
The White House and Democratic-led Congress have beenwrangling for months over whether to make permanent a programthat allowed surveillance of communications between people inthe United States and others overseas if one had suspectedterrorist ties.
Another key concern has been some 40 civil lawsuits filedaccusing AT&T, Verizon Communications and Sprint Nextel ofviolating Americans' privacy rights in helping the warrantlessdomestic spying program that started shortly after theSeptember 11 attacks.
"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.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Matt Spetalnick, editingby Vicki Allen)
