Lawmakers Near Deal On Surveillance Bill

By Carrie Johnson / Washington Post

A bipartisan group of congressional negotiators neared a deal yesterday on controversial wiretapping legislation that could be unveiled as early as next week, according to Capitol Hill sources and civil liberties advocates monitoring the talks.

Lawmakers have been wrangling for months over how to extend warrantless surveillance that Bush administration officials consider central to national security. Agreement has proved elusive because of privacy concerns as well as questions about telecommunications companies seeking immunity from lawsuits over their role in helping the government monitor phone calls and e-mail after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey recently told reporters that overhauling the law is among his highest priorities. Not updating the 30-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act could cause investigators to miss important clues to thwart terrorists, administration officials say.

A key element of the new plan would give U.S. district courts the chance to evaluate whether telecommunications companies deserve retroactive protection from lawsuits. A previous proposal floated by Republicans would have put the question to the secret FISA court that approves warrants.

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