Terrorism Fight on the Front Burner

Congress will weigh tough questions this week about combating terrorism and the war in Iraq.

Republicans are eager to push legislation on the legal rights of terrorism suspects, after a June 29 Supreme Court ruling that the current system of secret military tribunals violates U.S. and international law. But Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) told reporters yesterday that his chamber is unlikely to act until at least September.

In the meantime, House and Senate committees will have hearings on establishing standards for military tribunals that will pass court muster. The first session is scheduled tomorrow before the House Armed Services Committee. On Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee takes up the matter.

Some GOP members are seeking a partisan showdown on the tribunals, to try to show midterm-election voters that Democrats are soft on terrorism, but some powerful Republicans have rejected that approach.

"The whole world is watching how our country handles this issue," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.). "Our committee will proceed on any legislation very carefully, in a bipartisan way, to ensure America's credibility."

Also today the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a second confirmation hearing on the nomination of Defense Department General Counsel William J. Haynes II to the federal appeals court. In a letter to the committee, 20 retired military officers said they have "deep concerns" about the nomination because of Haynes's role as the Pentagon's top lawyer when controversial policies were adopted regarding interrogation techniques of terrorism suspects, including the use of dogs to "exploit phobias."

Meanwhile, lawmakers are increasingly concerned about the course of the Iraq war. Sens. Jack Reed (R.I.) and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), two prominent Democratic voices on foreign policy, traveled to Iraq over last week's recess and are expected to speak out this week about the intensifying sectarian violence and increased strain on the U.S. military.

And in a potentially lively House session, Rep. Christopher Shays (Conn.), a moderate Republican who is in danger of losing his once-safe seat because of his strong support for the war, plans a hearing to evaluate the administration's "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq." The witness list includes David M. Walker, U.S. comptroller general, and national security analyst Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Cordesman has been openly contemptuous of the administration's conduct of the war and reconstruction efforts, while Walker has been more than willing to fire broadsides at the administration for its fiscal management.

A Possible Bust for Online Gambling

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The House expects to act this week on legislation to ban Internet gambling, six years after disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a senior aide to then-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) conspired to derail a similar measure.

The bill would cut off the money flow from online gamblers to Internet gambling sites by prohibiting the use of banking instruments such as credit cards, checks or fund transfers in settling wagers. According to analysis by the Congressional Research Service, Americans wager up to $6 billion per year online, but few safeguards exist to prevent underage gambling, money laundering and fraud. Most sites are based overseas.

The bill does allow online state lotteries, and the horse- and dog-racing industries won a key exemption to protect parimutuel wagering, which relies on similar electronic communication technology.

On July 17, 2000, a similar gambling ban was offered on the House floor. Even its sponsors were surprised when it failed.

But as it turns out, the 2000 vote was rigged. According to plea agreements in an ongoing federal corruption inquiry, Abramoff worked to defeat the bill with the help of Tony C. Rudy, a senior aide to DeLay, who was then House majority whip. Rudy pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy charges related to the gambling bill and other official acts.

Voting on Voting

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After an embarrassing setback last month, House leaders will try again this week to extend key provisions of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. But conservatives who object to the law's multilingual-ballot requirements say they will continue to fight their leadership.

A reauthorization of the act -- widely credited for helping thousands of African Americans gain access to the ballot box -- was supposed to sail through Congress with huge bipartisan majorities. But a few Southern Republicans slowed that march, complaining that their states are being unfairly tarnished by a requirement that the Justice Department preapprove changes in voting practices in states that used techniques to discourage blacks from voting in the 1960s.

Republicans in Georgia and Texas got a boost when a broader swath of conservatives demanded changes to a section that requires local jurisdictions to print ballots in languages other than English. House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) hopes to build support by offering Southerners the chance to amend the act. But English-ballot supporters say they have not agreed to go along.