President Bush urges House to pass ‘spy bill’ and grant ‘immunity’

Reuters

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008 | 4:26 p.m.

What has been termed the "spy bill" was passed in the Senate by a vote of 68-29, Feb. 12, 2008, and is now being sent back to the House where a similar bill was passed last year in 2007. The bill allows telecommunication companies to listen in on international phone calls made in the U.S. without a warrant and then pass on the information from those calls to the government on request. The most significant difference between the 2007 House bill and the 2008 Senate bill is that the Senate’s includes immunity to any previous spying done before the bill’s passage.

Of the remaining 2008 Presidential candidates, Sen. Barack Obama voted against the bill, Sen. Hillary Cinton did not cast a vote and Sen. John McCain voted in favor of the bill.