Senate and Bush Agree On Terms of Spying Bill

Subtitle: "Some Telecom Companies Would Receive Immunity"
By Jonathan Weisman and Ellen Nakashima
The Washington Post, Thursday, October 18, 2007

I quote:

Senate Democrats and Republicans reached agreement with the Bush administration yesterday on the terms of new legislation to control the federal government's domestic surveillance program, which includes a highly controversial grant of legal immunity to telecommunications companies that have assisted the program, according to congressional sources.

Disclosure of the deal followed a decision by House Democratic leaders to pull a competing version of the measure from the floor because they lacked the votes to prevail over Republican opponents and GOP parliamentary maneuvers.

The collapse marked the first time since Democrats took control of the chamber that a major bill was withdrawn from consideration before a scheduled vote. It was a victory for President Bush, whose aides lobbied heavily against the Democrats' bill, and an embarrassment for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had pushed for the measure's passage.

Comment: I hope it is not too late to rectify this problem, and resuscitate the House version of the law. Lets hold people, even rich powerful people, responsible for what they do. Don't set a precedent that will bear bitter fruit in the future. JAD