Senate Dems won't block FISA compromise

Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday that they would not stand in the way of a compromise overhaul of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), despite their concerns with the impacts of the sprawling measure. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, said some Democrats are “not happy with that, but there may be enough to get a majority vote.” But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he would not support the bill but added that he knows others will. The compromise, which is being finalized behind closed doors, attempts to split the difference over the hot-button issue of whether telephone companies deserve retroactive immunity for assisting in government surveillance after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. According to people familiar with the draft, the language gives federal district courts a role in determining whether companies should be given immunity for the role they played in eavesdropping on telephone calls. Republicans had initially sought blanket immunity, saying that companies would no longer assist with government surveillance if they were being sued for their efforts. Democrats said that immunity should not be awarded to companies that were breaking the law. Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR), who sits on the Intelligence Committee, said he would not accept a "fig leaf" on the immunity issue, but still wants to see the language. The compromise has so far not satisfied privacy-rights groups. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union are planning a Wednesday teleconference to criticize the anticipated deal, which they call a giveaway to the White House and the phone companies.
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