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CQ Politics

[B]CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE [/B]Feb. 5, 2008 – 2:05 p.m.

Electronic Surveillance Bill Held Up in Senate

Legislation to overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act remained stalled in the Senate Tuesday, held hostage by partisan wrangling over procedures for consideration of an unrelated economic stimulus package.

A frustrated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., complained that Republicans are blocking his efforts to schedule votes on proposed amendments to the FISA bill. A temporary extension of the electronic surveillance law is in force until Feb. 16, and the White House insisted that Congress complete the more lasting overhaul by then.

Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, noted that Congress has been wrangling about new guidelines for electronic surveillance for about 18 months, and already has passed two temporary extensions of the basic law.

“Legislating by extension for our intelligence community is no way to run a counterintelligence program,” Perino told reporters. “So we think February 15th is a hard and fast deadline that they need to meet.”

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., said Senate Republicans will not agree to move forward on the FISA rewrite until Reid gives them a chance to offer amendments to the economic stimulus bill that also is awaiting a Senate floor vote.

“These two issues are interconnected in terms of how we can fairly go forward,” the GOP leader said. “As soon as we have an understanding about how we go forward on the stimulus package, then I’m confident we’ll make progress on this as well.”

McConnell added, “Both, at end of the day, are going to pass on a strong bipartisan basis. But the process for dealing with them is not irrelevant.”