|
Washington: President George W. Bush said on Friday that "our country is in more danger of an attack" because of Congress' failure to extend a law that makes it easier for the government to spy on foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States.
Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met with Republican congressional leaders in the Oval Office to discuss the impasse with the Democratic-led House. The president said lawmakers had left for a 12-day recess without acting on the law, which expires at midnight today. He said Congress should act quickly on the measure as soon as lawmakers return.
The confrontation over regulating the US spy agencies has high stakes for both parties in this presidential election year. Bush's approval rating among voters has been extremely low for months because of a badly slumping economy and a long and unpopular war in Iraq.
Among many voters, national security is the principal issue on which Republicans have an edge over Democrats. Thus, Bush and his fellow Republicans want to convince the electorate that Democrats are rolling back dangerously on changes made since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to ease restrictions on intelligence gatherers.
|
