Bush says nation in more danger of terror attack because Congress hasn't extended spy law

WASHINGTON — President Bush said Friday that "our country is in more danger of an attack" because of Congress' failure to extend a law granting the government authority to spy on foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States.

The president and Vice President Dick Cheney met with Republican congressional leaders in the Oval Office to discuss the impasse with the Democratic-led House. The president said lawmakers had left for a 12-day recess without acting on the law, which expires at midnight Saturday. He said Congress should act quickly on the measure as soon as lawmakers return.

Bush's argues that without the extension, the intelligence community will not have the tools they need. Democrats, equally adamant, accuse the president of fear-mongering and say he has the authority he needs to intercept terrorist communications, even if the law expires.

"American citizens must understand, clearly understand that there's still a threat on the homeland. There's still an enemy which would like to do us harm," Bush said. "We've got to give our professionals the tools they need, to be able to figure out what the enemy is up to so we can stop it."

"By blocking this piece of legislation, our country is more in danger of an attack," the president said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi maintains the congressional majority is simply trying to balance concerns about civil liberties against the government's spy powers, and needs time to do it.

Republicans insist there's no time to waste. "The Democratic leaders ought to be held accountable for their inaction," House Republican leader John Boehner told reporters after the White House meeting.

Behind both sides' rhetoric, the issue of what the government can and can't do is complicated by a quirk in the temporary eavesdropping law adopted by Congress last August. It allows the government to initiate wiretaps for up to one year against a wide range of targets. It also explicitly compels telecommunications companies to comply with the orders, and protects them from civil lawsuits that may be filed against them for doing so.

But while the wiretap orders can go on for a year from the time they started, the compliance orders and the liability protections go away when the law expires Saturday night, says Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell.

"There is no longer a way to compel the private sector to help us," he said Thursday in an Associated Press interview.

Even if the law expires, the government can get an order from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to compel their cooperation. That court was created 30 years ago for just such a purpose. But McConnell rejects that option. He says the process of getting a court order ties intelligence agents up in red tape.

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