U.S. Lower House passes bill to allow wiretapping without court warrant: report

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill allowing U.S. President George W. Bush to authorize a wiretapping program without the need for court warrants, The New York Times reported Friday.

The bill, approved by the House with a 232-191 vote Thursday night, will give legal status to Bush's program for the warrantless wiretapping of international calls and emails of U.S. residents, the report said.

However, to authorize such a program, the bill says the president must notify the intelligence committees and congressional leaders in the House and the Senate, he must believe that an attack is imminent, and later divulge the reason for the tapping and the names of the individuals and groups involved.

The president shall also renew his certification for such spying programs every 90 days, the report added.

Backers of the bill hope the Senate will approve a similar measure before Congress recesses at the weekend.

However, the differences between the two versions of the House and the Senate bill won't be reconciled easily, and it looks unlikely that the Bush administration will get it signed into law before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, the report declared.

Source: Xinhua