The Senate passed a bill to fund intelligence agencies, with heavy strings attached (see bill text). Two provisions may prove controversial: one seeks to close secret CIA prisons, unless President Bush demonstrates their necessity and lawfulness; another calls for Bush to give the Intelligence Committee all 1997-2003 presidential briefings mentioning Iraq (Los Angeles Times).
Here's what the LA Times said about the bill:
"The measure would boost the budgets for U.S. spy agencies to an estimated $45 billion even as it calls for new scrutiny of an array of controversial espionage programs....
"Critics have complained that the prison network skirts international law, and that the interrogation methods used by the CIA amount to torture, including a technique called "water-boarding" in which a prisoner is subjected to sensations intended to simulate drowning.
"Another provision calls for Bush to give the committee access to all presidential briefings between 1997 and 2003 that mention Iraq -- an apparent effort to examine what Bush knew before ordering the U.S. invasion in 2003.
"Republicans have warned that the inclusion of such language likely will lead to a presidential veto."
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