The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Franc gives readers a heads up on the upcoming fall congressional session:

When Congress returns from its August recess, the fireworks will come from three interrelated issues—counterterrorism, border and port security, and national security. Republicans, not coincidentally, enjoy a political advantage on all three and expect extensive media coverage of these high-profile issues to give them a much-needed political boost going into the November elections.

Though the fall session will be brief, congressional leaders hope to force votes on some or all of the following:

• One or more bills to clarify the legality of National Security Agency programs to monitor phone calls, financial transactions and other communications involving suspected terrorists and persons in the U.S.

• Legislation granting explicit approval for the military tribunals used to prosecute suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. (The Supreme Court ruled in its Hamdan decision that the current system lacks proper authorization from Congress.)

• A legislative enhancement of our port security that would establish more stringent security standards for ports and authorize an additional $5.5 billion for port security needs.

• Final approval of the annual spending bills for the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security.

• A second attempt to confirm John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 28th, 2006 at 10:13 am and is filed under Congress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.