Wiretaps - Watch Your Tongue!

In The Know: Are Politicians Failing Our Lobbyists?

The House on Friday easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that effectively shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government's terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on U.S. phone and computer lines.

The bill, which passed 293 to 129, does more to compromise the House's integrity than it does to protect our national security. It doesn't take much digging to see that campaign contributions continue to make the difference when decisions are tough.

The legislation "serves to strengthen the constitutional rights of Americans," said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, a Texas Democrat.

In reality, bill would end more than 40 lawsuits against AT&T Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and other companies. They are accused of violating the privacy of their customers by helping the administration eavesdrop without court search warrants.

"This bill scares me to death," said Representative Barbara Lee, a California Democrat.

And it should. The steady erosion of our civil liberties can no longer be blamed on the republicans alone. Almost half the House Democrats, 105 out of 236, voted for the measure along with 188 Republicans.

How did your congressman vote? See the U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk Roll call list: FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 437.

Want to know if your representative's vote was bought? Go to Federal Election Commission and see how much the telecom industry contributed to your representative's last campaign.