Spy chief wants to expand surveillance

By Katherine Shrader
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Bush's spy chief is pushing to expand the government's surveillance authority at the same time the administration is under attack for stretching its domestic eavesdropping powers.

National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell has circulated a draft bill that would expand the government's powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), liberalizing how that law can be used.

The 1978 FISA law was passed to allow surveillance in espionage and other foreign-intelligence investigations but still allow federal judges on a secretive panel to ensure protections for U.S. citizens — at home or abroad — and other permanent U.S. residents.