US lawmakers tackling domestic spy program fix

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) US lawmakers hoping to adjourn today for a monthlong recess struggled to amend the government's domestic spying program in way acceptable to President George W Bush.

But a last-minute push to expand the government's anti-terrorism powers to eavesdrop on telephone calls and e-mail from abroad was in doubt as Democrats worked for a compromise on narrowly tailored legislation.

Bush, who has pressed for action this week, urged lawmakers to stay on until they produce legislation that closes what he called ''an intelligence gap in the (1978) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).'' ''So far the Democrats have not drafted a bill I can sign,'' he said at FBI headquarters. ''Time is short and I ask Congress to stay in session until they pass a bill that will give our intelligence community the tools they need.'' Lawmakers were working to revamp a law that requires warrants for the monitoring of communications by people inside the United States.

Congressional aides said the effort was prompted in part by a secret court's new restrictions on the ability of U.S. spy agencies to intercept telephone calls and e-mails of suspected terrorists overseas.

The issue has been complicated by a dispute over Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' truthfulness in testimony about US spy programs.

The administration has proposed giving Gonzales authority to authorize the surveillance, raising concerns of Democrats as well as some of Gonzales' fellow Republicans.

''We need to wiretap terrorists, and we should address the problem that has been identified with FISA with respect to foreign-to-foreign communications,'' said Sen Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat.

''But the administration's overly broad proposal goes far beyond that and would leave critical decisions related to surveillance involving Americans entirely up to the attorney general,'' Feingold said.

Democrats also cite concerns about potential civil-liberties violations.

FISA requires the government to obtain orders from the secret FISA court to conduct surveillance of suspected terrorists in the United States.

After the September 11 attacks, Bush authorized the interception without warrants of communications between people in the United States and others overseas if one has suspected ties to terrorists.

Critics charge that program violated the law, but Bush argued he had wartime powers to do so.

Reuters RS DB2317