The president will speak to reporters at the White House at 10:05 a.m. EST. President Bush on Thursday urged Congress to pass a law that mkes it easier for the government to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects.
The president wants Congress to renew a temporary law that expired earlier this month. The House and Senate have passed different versions of the measure, which would continue authorization of a program that lets the government listen in on the phone calls of suspected terrorists and view their e-mails.
Bush wants the House to adopt the version passed by the Senate. That bill gives retroactive immunity from lawsuits to telecommunications companies that provided information to the government after the Sept. 11 attacks.
According to White House press secretary Dana Perino, the president will also push Congress to fully fund the war in Iraq, approve legislation aimed at easing the subprime mortgage and housing crises and approve additional funding for the treatment of HIV and AIDS in Africa.