Reid Files Another FISA Extension

By Daniel W. Reilly

(The Politico)  With time running out for Congress to finish work on an overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed a bill on Friday that would extend the current law through the end of the month.

The Senate is expected to finish work on the bill sometime on Tuesday afternoon, giving the House just three working days to finish the bill before the current law expires on Feb 16.

President Bush has indicated he will not accept another extension of the current law and that Congress must finish its work next week.

However, a dispute over the issue of retroactive immunity for telecomm companies who cooperated with the government in the wiretapping program, could derail the measure.

The House passed its own version of the FISA measure last fall, however, the bill did not include the immunity provisions--which is likely to be included in the Senate version.