Senate panel punts on surveillance bill markup

SENATE PANEL PUNTS ON SURVEILLANCE BILL MARKUP
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Manu Raju]
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday delayed action on a bill to overhaul the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, setting up a showdown on the highly contentious measure on the eve of lawmakers’ Thanksgiving recess. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said he would delay Thursday’s markup until next week to mollify Republicans’ complaints that they had not had enough time to review the measure, which would impose new oversight on the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Chairman Leahy is planning on making changes to a bill that the Intelligence Committee approved by a 13-2 vote last month. The panel had planned to mark up part of the bill Thursday and address the more controversial provisions next week. The outcome of next week’s debate will elevate the issue of national security and privacy rights along the presidential and congressional campaign trails when Congress takes a two-week break over Thanksgiving.
http://thehill.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=69679&Itemid=70

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