House Approves Warrantless Wiretap Law
By LAURIE KELLMAN
The Associated Press
Friday, September 29, 2006; 1:27 AM
WASHINGTON -- The House approved a bill Thursday that would grant legal status to President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program with new restrictions. Republicans called it a test before the election of whether Democrats want to fight or coddle terrorists.
"The Democrats' irrational opposition to strong national security policies that help keep our nation secure should be of great concern to the American people," Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement after the bill passed 232-191.
House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio gestures during a Capitol Hill news conference, Thursday, April 6, 2006. During the debate Wednesday Sept. 27, 2006 on the bill giving the Bush administration authority to interrogate and prosecute terrorism detainees, Boehner, all but dared Democrats to vote against the legislation. "Will my Democrat friends work with Republicans to give the president the tools he needs to continue to stop terrorist attacks before they happen, or will they vote to force him to fight the terrorists with one arm tied behind his back?" Boehner asked just before members cast their ballots.
"To always have reasons why you just can't vote 'yes,' I think speaks volumes when it comes to which party is better able and more willing to take on the terrorists and defeat them," Boehner said. |
