Bush Lays out Agenda for Congress

President Bush set out an agenda for Congress this morning: reform FISA, modernize the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and approve his Colombia free trade agreement.

Congress returns today from two weeks of recess, and Bush spoke this morning as he departed from the White House for NATO’s summit in Bucharest, which will begin Wednesday.

On FISA, Bush told Congress to grant immunity to telecommunications companies who turned over customer information to the government in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. House Democratic leaders oppose retroactive immunity for telecom companies, and Bush has said he will veto any FISA legislation that does not include it.

The Senate this week will reconsider the Foreclosure Prevention Act to reform the FHA. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) first introduced that bill in February.

Bush’s Colombian free trade agreement has not seen a vote in Congress. Labor unions oppose the deal and have called attention to murders of Colombian unionists by that country’s military.