politics | H.R. 6304 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 )

H.R. 6304: A bill to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to establish a procedure for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence, and for other purposes.

Bowing to President Bush's demands, the Senate sent the White House a bill Wednesday overhauling bitterly disputed rules on secret government eavesdropping and shielding telecommunications companies from lawsuits complaining they helped the U.S. spy on Americans.

The relatively one-sided vote, 69-28, came only after a lengthy and heated debate that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks. It ended almost a year of wrangling over surveillance rules and the president's warrantless wiretapping program that was initiated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

I for one am not thrilled this passed, and for those who are interested, here are the here are some of the votes:

Clinton - Nay
Obama - Yea
McCain - Not Voting
Kerry - Nay
Durbin - Nay
Dodd - Nay

Obama may be getting a letter from me.