Heating Up With Hot-Button Issues
As if the debates over immigration and the Iraq war weren't contentious enough, Congress is about to embark on some really hot-button issues: flag burning, same-sex marriage and censuring the president.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Friday hearing on Sen. Russell Feingold's resolution to censure President Bush for authorizing warrantless surveillance of Americans' international phone calls and e-mails. The measure has divided Feingold's fellow Democrats, some of whom fear he is helping Republicans shift attention from the GOP's problems in dealing with Iraq, hurricane relief and other matters.
  Sen. Russell Feingold's bid to censure the president over wiretaps is on the agenda. (Jason Reed - Reuters) 
 Which President signed the bill establishing the Smithsonian Institution? A. James K. Polk B. Zachary Taylor C. Franklin Pierce D. James Buchanan  
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But Feingold (Wis.) is unapologetic, commending Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) for scheduling the hearing. "He recognizes the importance and seriousness of the issue," Feingold said yesterday. "The president broke the law, and this hearing is an important step towards Congress holding him accountable."
Needless to say, not all lawmakers agree that Bush broke the law, and the issue should get a good airing this morning in a separate hearing before Specter's panel. Four federal judges are slated to discuss proposals to bring the eavesdropping program, which is conducted by the National Security Agency, under the auspices of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The 1978 act established a secret court to consider the government's warrant requests to wiretap Americans. Bush says his constitutional powers permit him to order such surveillance without warrants when terrorism is suspected.
Some of the judges have served on the FISA court. Also scheduled to testify today are Morton H. Halperin of the Open Society Policy Center and David S. Kris, senior vice president of Time Warner Inc.
Meanwhile, interest groups on the left and right are preparing for showdowns over flag desecration and same-sex marriage in June, when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has scheduled floor votes on the always-controversial issues. Both efforts call for constitutional amendments, which require a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate, followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states.
Frist, who is weighing a 2008 presidential bid, often touts the proposed amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The effort failed in both houses in 2004. The Senate fell 12 votes short of the number needed to cut off debate, and House supporters could not muster the two-thirds majority they needed in their chamber.
As for protecting the American flag, some conservatives have sought a constitutional amendment since 1990. That is when the Supreme Court affirmed its view that flag burning is a form of protected political speech. The House has backed a constitutional amendment to bar flag desecration in previous Congresses, but the Senate has not complied.
Some Democrats ask why Frist is spending time on long-shot constitutional matters when Congress is struggling over immigration, the deficit, tax policies and other issues.
"It's that time of the year to throw a little red meat to the base," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). "We need to focus on the American people's priorities."
Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said that is exactly what his boss is doing. The flag-protection amendment "is the number-one issue on veterans' agenda," Stevenson said yesterday. And the bid to ban same-sex marriage requires federal action, he said, because numerous courts have rejected state legislatures' efforts to do so.
"We don't have the option of putting this off," Stevenson said.
GOP Joins in Urging Floor Debate on Iraq War
Three House Republicans have joined three Democrats in calling for an extensive floor debate on the Iraq war.
GOP Reps. Wayne T. Gilchrest (Md.), Walter B. Jones Jr. (N.C.) and Ron Paul (Tex.) last week joined Democratic Reps. Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii), Ike Skelton (Mo.) and Martin T. Meehan (Mass.) in signing a letter to colleagues urging "an open and honest debate on the future of U.S. policy in Iraq." They want a "discharge petition" for Abercrombie's stalled resolution that would require Bush to "develop and implement a plan for the withdrawal" of U.S. troops.
