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Bush says Congress must stay to pass intelligence bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush said today that Congress must stay in session until it approves legislation modernizing a U.S. law governing eavesdropping on foreigners.

"So far the Democrats in Congress have not drafted a bill I can sign," Bush said at FBI headquarters, where he was meeting with counterterrorism and homeland security officials. "We’ve worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk."

The president, who has the power under the Constitution to keep Congress in session, said lawmakers cannot leave for their August recess this weekend unless they "pass a bill that will give our intelligence community the tools they need."

Earlier today, the White House offered an eleventh-hour accord to Democrats in the negotiations over the matter, saying it would agree to a court review of its foreign intelligence activities instead of leaving certification up to the attorney general and national intelligence director.

But it attached conditions that could be unacceptable to Democrats: that the review would only be after-the-fact and would only involve the administration’s general process of collecting the intelligence, not individual cases, said a senior administration official speaking on condition of anonymity to more freely discuss internal deliberations.

Bush said the administration offer is a "a narrow and targeted piece of legislation that will close the gaps in intelligence."


Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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