January 23, 2008: Dodd promises a filibuster if telecom immunity remains in FISA bill

[20:27]
The Senate adjourned at 19:39. It's back tomorrow at 9:30 when senators will resume consideration of S. 2248, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance bill.

[19:37]
Dodd has promised to "talk for awhile about the rule of law" if attempts to strip retroactive immunity from the proposed revision of FISA do not succeed. Leahy will offer a "substitute" version of the bill that would not include retroactive immunity for telecom companies. If that doesn't work, Dodd himself would offer a more simple amendment stripping immunity from the bill. If that doesn't work, then Dodd will use whatever tools he says are available to one senator, i.e. filibuster. "I don't think I've ever done this before," he says.

[19:13]
The Senate is still humming. Speeches have turned to the topic of surveillance law, which the Senate will begin considering in earnest tomorrow.

Right now Chris Dodd (CT) is speaking. Recall that he was one of the most vocal opponents in December of the provision in one of the proposed FISA bills that would grant retroactive immunity to phone companies that complied to a Bush administration request to eavesdrop on communications despite not having a court order.

There are two versions of the bill out there, differing in ways including whether or not they grant retroactive telecom immunity. The Leahy substitute, as its known, does not includes the immunity provision.

Dodd says he "fears that retroactive immunity will return, and I will fight it again."

[13:22]
There was a development yesterday in the Senate's effort to re-work the wiretapping/surveillance provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Majority leader Reid (NV) propounded a unanimous consent request to extend the current FISA law — known as the Protect America Act of 2007 and passed last August under the lazy eyes of Senate Democracts — beyond the law's expiration on February 1.

Clearly Reid was trying to buy time. Minority leader Mitch McConnell (KY) objected to this request, however. This leaves the Senate where it left off in 2007 — in the position of wanting to revise the poorly written 2007 version of FISA but caught in a bind between White House demands for telecomm company immunity and libertarian democrat promises to filibuster any FISA update granting such immunity.

McConnell stated that there was enough time to work on a revision before the February 1 deadline. Reid has said that the Senate will work on the bill through the weekend if it cannot reconcile two separate version of the bill that Reid will introduce on Thursday.

The Senate passed the Protect America Act by a 60-28 vote on August 3 (with 12 no votes). Senators later expressed regret for hastily passing a measure in the face of White House cries about gaps in America's ability to properly monitor terrorists. All 28 "nays" came from Democrats, including Clinton (NY) and Obama (IL).

[12:51]
The House has again failed to override the Bush S-CHIP veto.

[12:48]
While the Senate is away at lunch, a quick look back to yesterday’s vote to pass a revision of the Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008.

Bush had surprisingly vetoed this bill over the winter break citing its failure to exempt the current Iraqi government from suits stemming from Hussein-era abuses. The House last week passed a version of the bill including said immunity. Yesterday, the Senate followed suit by a vote of 91-3, the nays being Byrd (WV), Feingold (WI), and Sanders (VT).

As you might recall, the Senate originally passed this legislation way back in October by a vote of 92-3. The three nays on that were Byrd, Coburn (OK), and Feingold.

The conference report passed the Senate on Dec. 14 by a vote of 90-3, the nays being Byrd, Feingold, and Sanders.

[12:34]
The Senate has recessed for lunch. At 2:15 p.m., the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1200, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

[12:26]
The Senate is underway but action is minimal so far on this Wednesday. C-SPAN2 reports that there won’t be any votes until 17:00 because Republicans are having a party retreat on Capitol Hill. Later this afternoon senators will speak about amendments to the Indian health care bill now before the chamber.

The House today is voting yet again on a veto override for S-CHIP. This is the third such vote.