Accord in House to Hold Inquiry on Surveillance - New York Times

Accord in House to Hold Inquiry on Surveillance - New York Times: "February 17, 2006

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 — Leaders of the House Intelligence Committee said Thursday that they had agreed to open a Congressional inquiry prompted by the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program. But a dispute immediately broke out among committee Republicans over the scope of the inquiry.

Representative Heather A. Wilson, the New Mexico Republican and committee member who called last week for the investigation, said the review 'will have multiple avenues, because we want to completely understand the program and move forward.'

But an aide to Representative Peter Hoekstra, the Michigan Republican who leads the committee, said the inquiry would be much more limited in scope, focusing on whether federal surveillance laws needed to be changed and not on the eavesdropping program itself.

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Ms. Wilson said the review would include closed-door briefings by intelligence officials about the operational details of the program, a review of its legality and discussion about whether changes are needed in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which bans eavesdropping in intelligence investigations without a court order.

GG - CNN REPORTED THAT THE COMITTEE CHAIR WOULD NOT ALLOW A VOTE ON WHETHER OR NOT TO LOOK INTO ILLEGAL WIRETAP ACTIVITIES BY GEORGE W BUSH.