President Bush wants Congress to broaden
the government's powers to eavesdrop on private conversations without
court approval. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, a
controversial public surveillance law is set to expire February 1.
President Bush says the government's ability to listen-in on telephone calls is critical to fighting terror.
"One
of the most important tools is to be able to figure out the intentions
of an enemy that still wants to do us harm," he said. "If they are
making calls into America, we need to know why they are calling, what
they are thinking, and what they are planning."
U.S. intelligence agents currently monitor international phone calls
between people in the United States and suspected terrorists under a
law known as the Protect America Act. That law expires next Friday, but
President Bush says the threat to America will not.
He wants legislation that permanently extends that authority, grants
broader powers to wiretap without court approval and gives legal
immunity to telephone companies that have helped the government monitor
communications.
