President George W. Bush will veto a 30-day extension of a controversial spying program due to expire February 1, the White House said Tuesday, after months of calling the effort vital to US security. "We would veto a 30-day extension," said spokesman Tony Fratto. "What we want to do is make the law permanent."
Bush's Democratic foes, who control the US Congress, say the extension will ensure that there is no "intelligence gap" while lawmakers reconcile rival Senate and House versions of legislation to make the initiative permanent.
"What's important for the intelligence community is that they have certainty in the law in order to put in place their programs," said Fratto. "We don't need a patchwork of extensions; what we need is to get this bill passed."
"They need this, their partners need it, in order to go forward and to make sure that they are doing all that they can to protect the country and to get the intelligence that they need," the spokesman said.
The issue erupted with the disclosure of a secret warrantless wiretapping program that sparked charges that the Bush administration was violating a 1978 law requiring court approval for spying on domestic communications.
One key area of dispute is whether the legislation should grant telecommunications companies blanket immunity, retroactive to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, from lawsuits over their cooperation with the program.
The White House denies any illegal action, but insists that it wants those corporations to be protected from action in US courts.