President George W. Bush urged the U.S. House of Representatives again on Wednesday to pass an intelligence law making it easier for the government to eavesdrop on telephone calls and e-mails of suspected terrorists. Failure to pass the new law would be “inexcusable” and “indefensible,” he said. “There is still an extremist threat,” Bush told reporters after meeting with the visiting prime minister of the Czech Republic. “People still want to attack our country. We'd better understand what they're thinking, what they're planning, and who they're talking to.” The House of Representatives approved its version of the law in October. The Senate earlier this month passed its version, which would provide retroactive legal protection for telecommunications companies that wiretapped U.S. telephone and internet lines at the government's request after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, without court permission. The House of Representatives' version does not include immunity for the telecommunications industry. Bush has threatened to veto any legislation that does not provide immunity.
