Late last night, the House endorsed, by a vote of 232-191, a measure that legalizes the current NSA warrantless surveillance program, but it is unlikely to be sent to the president's desk before the midterm elections, according to the AP.
A corresponding measure in the Senate may get a vote sometime today or tomorrow, before the Senate recesses. But since Senator Arlen Specter's bill in the Senate and Congresswoman Heather Wilson's House bill differ on enough key matters, that there is no time to reconcile the bills and resubmit them for votes by both houses.
The votes are likely to be used, however, as leverage in campaign fights in the midterm elections, and depending on the outcome of those elections, could become law when Congress returns in the lame duck session after the election.
Photo: hjl
