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House approves wiretap measure
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The latest: The House on Friday easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that effectively shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government's terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on U.S. phone and computer lines.
What it means: The bill, which passed 293 to 129, does more than just protect the telecoms. The update to the 30-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is an attempt to balance privacy rights with the government's responsibility to protect the country against attack, taking into account changes in technologies.
The passage marks the beginning of the end to a monthslong standoff between Democrats and Republicans about the rules for government wiretapping inside the United States.
How Minnesota voted: Minnesota's delegation was divided mostly along party lines, with Democrat Collin Peterson joining Republicans John Kline, Jim Ramstad and Michele Bachmann in backing the measure. Democrats Tim Walz, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and Jim Oberstar voted against it.
What's next: The Senate was expected to pass the bill as soon as next week.
ETHANOL RULES ARE QUESTIONED
The latest: Signs are growing that the government could allow farmers to plant crops on millions of acres of conservation land, while a chorus of voices is pleading with Washington to cut requirements for ethanol production.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, on Friday urged the Agriculture Department to release tens of thousands of farmers from contracts under which they had promised to set aside huge tracts as natural habitat.
The issue: Flooding has washed out about 4 million acres of farmland as the world desperately needs more grain. With corn prices setting records and soybean prices not far behind, the Bush administration is under intense pressure to do what it can to bolster the food supply.
In disasters, the Environmental Protection Agency can roll back requirements for ethanol production, which could free up corn for animal feed.
BUSH ASSERTS EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE
The latest: Setting up a constitutional showdown, the White House asserted executive privilege Friday in denying a request to turn over thousands of pages of documents that Congress seeks as part of an investigation involving California's air-quality standards.
The reaction: "I don't think we've had a situation like this since Richard Nixon was president," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He canceled a contempt vote against Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson and White House official Susan Dudley after the White House informed him of its last-minute decision.
What's the dispute about? Waxman said Johnson and Dudley had wanted to approve a waiver that California officials sought to strengthen the state's air-quality standards but that Bush had overruled them.
What's next: Waxman said the committee would investigate the matter further before deciding how to proceed. He said, "We will not abandon this matter."
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