Update: The WaPo reports:
House Democratic leaders have agreed to the GOP's request that the chamber go into secret session today to discuss terrorist surveillance legislation. The session will last one hour, with the time equally divided between the majority and the minority. [end update]
The House is debating other matters right now, so it's good time to gather some background reading about the new House version of the FISA bill ( H.R. 3773) in anticipation of the projected vote later. The latest wrinkle is a call for a secret session, requested by House Republicans. The House has not yet voted to go into a secret session..
We heard Minority Leader Boehner (R- Perfect Tan, Ohio) talking about the secret session in a press conference just a few minutes ago. The Washington Times's Fishwrap reports House going to secret session for FISA. The WaPo's Ben Pershing blogs about it in House May Hold Rare 'Closed Session' . CQ Politics reports Republicans Seek Secret House Session on Surveillance:
House Republicans planned to seek a rare closed session Thursday to debate a Democratic leadership-backed rewrite of electronic surveillance law.
Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio said the House needs to have an “open and honest debate about some of the important details about this program, that don’t need to be heard in public.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she was still evaluating the request and expressed concern that it might be the latest in a series of Republican procedural moves to delay consideration of the bill.
President Bush meanwhile said he would veto the bill, which is not expected to advance in the Senate.
In his press conference, Boehner expressed confidence that the Senate version of the bill would pass in the House if it were brought to the floor. CQ Politics suggests that that situation is changing:
Meanwhile, the fate of the legislation hinged on 21 conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats who endorsed the Senate’s version of the surveillance law overhaul in January. They have been targeted by liberal activists who want them to reverse their position and appeared to be weighing whether the new House measure would bring the contentious issue any closer to being resolved.
A senior Democratic aide said party leaders were “whipping pretty aggressively,” and a ringleader of the 21 Blue Dogs, Leonard L. Boswell , D-Iowa, said he was prepared to support the new legislation.
If that’s what comes up, I’m prepared to stand up and support it,” he said.
Such secret sessions are rare. The Hill reports in House GOP: Hoyer agrees to closed FISA session:
House Republicans said Thursday that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has agreed to a GOP request for a secret House session to discuss the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA).
House Republicans had been seeking the closed session to delay a vote on a new Democratic FISA overhaul, unveiled Tuesday, and discuss its national security implications. A Democratic leadership aide, however, said Hoyer is discussing a closed session, but has yet to agree to one.
The last closed House session was held in 1983. Only three have ever been held.
Closed sessions are more common in the Senate. The last time the Senate went into a secret session was in November 2005, over "an inquiry into the Bush administration's handling of intelligence about Iraq's weapons in the run-up to the war," the Washington Post reported at the time.
The title of the WaPo's article provides a moment of historical irony: GOP Angered by Closed Senate Session. Then head of the Senate Intelligence committee, Senator Pat Roberts blast[ed] closed session 'stunt':
"There is nothing that hurts the truth so much as stretching it," the Kansas Republican said. He referred to Democrats' use of a rarely invoked rule to shutter the Senate as a "stunt" at least half a dozen times.
"As far as I'm concerned it was a blindside attack," Roberts said. "That's not the way to run the intelligence committee. We really politicized it, and I think that's most unfair."
CNN reported at the time that Senate Rule 21:
. . .has been invoked 53 times since 1929, according to the Congressional Research Service.
It was invoked six times during the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton for senators to organize the proceedings and deliberate on his eventual acquittal
On to more background material. Wire services are reporting on Bush's veto threat of the House bill in House set to vote today on telecom immunity. A transcript of Bush's remarks is here. House Majority Whip James Clyburn responds to Bush FISA veto and House Democratic Leaders Respond to the President on FISA.
Bonus: the Washington Post reports Report: FBI Misused Power: Agency continued to improperly obtain private data 5 years after powers were expanded under Patriot Act.
The ACLU says Don’t Follow Bush/Cheney Playbook on Domestic Spying.
On DailyKos there is an interesting article about a wrinkle in the FISA debate. Apparently the Senate took up a FISA bill that the House had previously passed, amended it to include retroactive immunity, and sent it back to the House. Now the House is bringing it up to amend it to not have retroactive immunity. The catch is that an amendment to an amendment isn't susceptible to a motion to recommit, meaning it has to be voted on. Also, the motion on the previous question can't be filibustered, meaning it will get a vote on it without the procedural hurdles the Republicans have been throwing at it. Now I'm sure there are other procedural obstacles that can be thrown at it, but as a bit of a rule wonk I find it really entertaining how some smart maneuvering can overcome rampant obstructionism.
Posted by: Archer Dem | March 14, 2008 at 12:02 AM