They Voted For You: FISA

U.S. Reps. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, helped the House pass the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) Amendments Act of 2008."

Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, was among 128 Democrats and one Republican to oppose the measure in the 293-129 vote.

The Associated Press describes the compromise bill as "an attempt to balance privacy rights with the government's responsibility to protect the country against attack, taking into account changes in telecommunications technologies."

But these new rules would also "effectively shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government's terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on phone and computer lines in this country," AP reports.

The bill has President Bush's blessing, and "the Senate was expected to pass the bill with a large margin" perhaps this week, AP reported.