Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/317385
ByKenDilanian The Associated Press WASHINGTON The House on Thursday passed legisla- tion to end the National Se- curity Agency's bulk collec- tion of American phone re- cords, the first legislative response to the disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Although the compro- mise measure was signifi- cantly "watered down," in the words of Democrat Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, it passed by a vote of 303 to 120, with 9 members not voting. "We must not let the per- fect be the enemy of the good," Schakowsky, an in- telligence committee mem- ber, said in summing up the feelings of many Republi- cans and Democrats who voted for the measure but wanted tougher provisions. Dropped from the bill was a requirement for an indepen- dent public advocate on the secret intelligence court that oversees the NSA. The USA Freedom Act would codify a proposal made in January by Pres- ident Barack Obama, who said he wanted to end the NSA's practice of collecting the "to and from" records of nearly every American land- line telephone call under a program that searched the data for connections to ter- rorist plots abroad. The bill doesn't ask the phone companies to hold re- cords for any longer than they already do, which var- ies by carrier. The bill would give the NSA the author- ity to request certain re- cords from the companies to search them in terrorism investigations in response to a judicial order. The phone program was revealed last year by Snowden, who used his job as a computer net- work administrator to re- move tens of thousands of secret documents from an NSA facility in Hawaii. The measure now heads to the Senate. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the chair- woman of the intelligence committee, has said she is willing to go along with a similar idea. NSAofficialswerepleased with the bill because under the existing program, they did not have access to many mobile phone records. Under the new arrangement, they will, officials say. "I believe this is a work- able compromise that pro- tects the core function of a counter terrorism program we know has saved lives around the world," said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the House Intelligence Commit- tee chairman. Privacy and civil liber- ties activists denounced the measure, saying it had been "gutted" to win agreement from lawmakers such as Rogers who supported the NSA phone records pro- gram. "This legislation was de- signed to prohibit bulk col- lection, but has been made so weak that it fails to ad- equately protect against mass, untargeted collection of Americans' private infor- mation," Nuala O'Connor, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in a state- ment. Technology companies such as Google and Face- book also withdrew their support, saying they were concerned about language they fear could allow bulk collection of Internet data. Proponents say that concern is misplaced. "Those who say this bill will legalize bulk collection are wrong," said Rep. C. A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. "They are trying to scare you by making you think there are monsters under the bed." The White House en- dorsed the measure. "The bill's significant reforms would provide the public greater confidence in our programs and the checks and balances in the system," the Office of Man- agement and Budget said in a statement Wednesday. House Intelligence Com- mittee member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the bill is perhaps the most signif- icant action Congress will take in response to the Snowden leaks. The former NSA contractor handed journalists documents that revealed a host of once-se- cret NSA surveillance pro- grams, including some that sweep in the personal infor- mation of Americans even as they target foreigners. Outrage over the pro- grams that Snowden publi- cized brought together con- servatives and liberals who favor civil liberties, while the administration and congres- sional leadership resisted changing what they consid- ered a useful counterterror tool. "I think there's been re- markable convergence on the issue," Schiff said. "It wasn't long ago that it was a real struggle with the idea of ending bulk collection. I think it's a very good bill." SPYING HousepassescurbsonNSAsurveillance By Donna Cassata The Associated Press WASHINGTON The House defied the Pentagon on Thursday, overwhelmingly backing a $601 billion de- fense authorization bill that saves the Cold War-era U-2 spy plane, military bases and Navy cruisers despites warnings that it will under- cut military readiness. A White House veto threat — reiterated just hours before the vote — had little impact in an election year as lawmak- ers embraced the popu- lar measure that includes a 1.8 percent pay raise for the troops and adds up to hundreds of thousands of jobs back home. The vote was 325-98 for the legisla- tion, with 216 Republicans and 109 Democrats back- ing the bill. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., chair- man of the House Armed Services committee that wrote the bill, rejected the suggestion that the mea- sure was a "sop to paro- chial interests," arguing that the bill makes "the tough decisions that put the troops first." But the panel's top Dem- ocrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, com- plained that the House re- jected the Pentagon's cost- saving proposals and came up with no alternatives. "We ducked every diffi- cult decision," Smith said. With the ending of two wars and diminishing bud- gets, the Pentagon had pro- posed retiring the U-2 and the A-10 Warthog close air support aircraft, taking 11 Navy cruisers out of the normal rotation for mod- ernization and increas- ing out-of-pocket costs for housing and health care. Republicans, even tea partyers who came to Con- gress demanding deep cuts in federal spending, and Democrats rejected the Pentagon budget, spar- ing the aircraft, ships and troop benefits. The bill from the Re- publican-controlled House must be reconciled with the Democratic-led Sen- ate's version. WASHINGTON House defies Pentagon on defense spending By Henry C. Jackson The Associated Press WASHINGTON Congress sent the White House a $12.3 billion water projects bill half the size of its last one seven years ago — be- fore the economy sank into a deep recession that helped swell the government's debt and before lawmakers swore off cherry-picking pet proj- ects for folks back home. With a 91-7 vote Thursday, the Senate passed the bill authorizing 34 new projects over the next 10 years. The House passed it Tuesday af- ter key lawmakers spent six months blending separate House and Senate versions approved last year. Thebillauthorizesbignew flood control projects for Ce- dar Rapids, Iowa, and Fargo, North Dakota, and dredg- ing and harbor expansions in Boston and Savannah, Georgia. But it also puts an end to $18 billion in dormant projects that Congress had passed before the last round of $23.3 billion in water proj- ects was approved in 2007. The new measure's re- duced cost reflects a con- scious effort by lawmakers to rein in spending, partic- ularly in the House, where Republicans first elected in 2010 or 2012 balked at new spending. All of the proj- ects included in the legisla- tion came at the recommen- dation of the Army Corps of Engineers. Some conservative and watchdog groups com- plained the bill was still bloated with unnecessary spending. But it had wide- spread support from state and local officials and busi- ness groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as legislation that will produce jobs and enhance commerce. "This is a strong, biparti- san bill," Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said. Sen. Barbara Boxer, R- Calif., hailed the bill's pas- sage as a "good day" for a host of interests. The seven votes against the bill were all cast by Re- publicans. One of those op- posed, Arizona Sen. John McCain, said the bill did not do enough to rein in costs. "It's still full of unneces- sary and unwanted proj- ects," he said. Others who voted against it were Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Ron John- son of Wisconsin, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Mike Lee of Utah and Pat Roberts of Kansas. In Iowa, the bill autho- rizes roughly $73.1 million in federal spending to help build up flood protections in Cedar Rapids, which suf- fered devastating flooding in 2008. It also schedules $846 million for flood mitigation area around Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Min- nesota. The bill permits some $216 million for dredging and ex- pansion in Boston Harbor and $492 million for expand- ing the fast-growing Port of Savannah in Georgia. Besides authorizing proj- ects, the bill makes changes to how future projects can seek funding and sets spe- cific time and cost limits for studies on potential projects. WASHINGTON Se na te a pp ro ve s $1 2. 3 bi ll io n wa te r bi ll RYANJ.FOLEY—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Sandbags are piled around the Parlor City Pub and Eatery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where workers placed a cardboard cutout of a man drinking beer, on May 31, 2013. By Matthew Daly The Associated Press WASHINGTON The growing furor over veterans' health care moved to the political campaigns Thursday as con- gressional candidates from both parties called for Vet- erans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to be fired. Democrat Alison Lunder- gan Grimes, who is challeng- ing Republican Senate Mi- nority Leader Mitch McCon- nell in Kentucky, was among those calling for Shinseki's removal amid investigations of VA patients dying while awaiting treatment and fal- sified appoint records. Democrat Rick Weiland, who is running for South Da- kota's open Senate seat, also called for Shinseki's ouster, as did a Democrat running for an open House seat in New Jersey and two Repub- licans challenging vulnera- ble Democrats in northern Minnesota House districts. House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., added to the calls for Shin- seki's resignation, saying the VA crisis was "a national em- barrassment" that requires new leadership. Shinseki, 71, said Thurs- day that he intends to re- main on the job. "I serve at the pleasure of the pres- ident," he told reporters at the Capitol. The former Army general and chief of staff added that "this is not the first time" he has faced controversy in his career. Grimes, the Kentucky Senate candidate, said the government had defaulted on a "solemn obligation to our veterans. I don't see how that breach of trust with our veterans can be repaired if the current leadership stays in place," she said. Grimes has tried to dis- tance herself at times from President Barack Obama, who is largely unpopular in her state, and she demon- strated her independence by calling for a cabinet mem- ber's removal. McConnellsaidearlierthis week that the predicament at the VA was "a management problem, not a money prob- lem," adding, "it's obvious that the management team needs to be changed." The inspector general at the Veterans Affairs De- partment says 26 VA facil- ities nationwide are under investigation, including the Phoenix hospital at the cen- ter of allegations about treat- ment delays and secret wait- ing lists intended to hide de- lays in care. The allegations have raised fresh concerns about the Obama administration's management of a depart- ment that has been strug- gling to keep up with the in- flux of veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Viet- nam veterans needing more care as they age. McConnell campaign spokeswoman Allison Moore said the campaign was pleased Grimes had joined in calling for a change in VA management. Moore criti- cized Senate Democrats for blocking a House-passed bill that would have made it eas- ier to fire or demote senior VA executives. Senate Democrats said they are working on their own legislation to make it easier to fire or demote ex- ecutives at VA. "I think what the House has done is not unreason- able," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told re- porters Thursday, adding that he is confident the Sen- ate will act quickly on a mea- sure being pushed by Inde- pendent Sen. Bernie Sand- ers of Vermont, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. The political maneuvering came as the Senate Appro- priations Committee added language to a military con- struction spending bill that, like the House proposal, would give the VA secretary broader authority to remove low-performing officials. "The veterans are not get- ting the medical care they need," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Sen- ateArmedServicesCommit- tee"Someheadsneedtoroll." White House spokesman Jay Carney, meanwhile, said Thursday the Obama admin- istration supports the goal of the House bill, but added, "We do have some concerns that some provisions could result in significant litiga- tion." POLITICS VA woes become campaign issue THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, CHARLIE LEIGHT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors arrives at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix on Thursday. proudlyannouncethe 2014TehamaCounty Medical Guide Areference guide to North State medical professionals and related medical services available toTehama County residents. 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