Suddenly Bipartisan, Congress Is On a Roll

Despite the distractions of anthrax anxiety, Congress in recent days has quietly settled a series of policy disputes that had stumped it for weeks.

House and Senate leaders announced Thursday that they had resolved their differences on a high-priority bill to provide new tools in the fight against terrorism. Congressional negotiators also reached agreement on a long-stalled bill to crack down on money laundering.

Those developments have been eclipsed by the discovery of anthrax in a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and the emotional turmoil that ensued.

But the crisis atmosphere may actually be helping to break political deadlocks, discouraging obstructionism when President Bush’s approval ratings are soaring. And some lawmakers are clamoring for Congress to wrap up its work for the year and adjourn rather than hang around and bicker.

Congress moved a big step closer to adjournment with the agreement on the anti-terrorism and money-laundering bills, which have been identified by the president and congressional leaders as essential parts of the nation’s response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

The action came a day after the Senate decided to remain in session despite concerns that 31 congressional staffers had tested positive for exposure to anthrax. The House of Representatives, however, remained dark to allow what House leaders have described as an “environmental sweep” of the chamber.

The compromise on the anti-terrorism bill, reached in private talks among top leaders and the White House, is expected to be approved by the House and Senate next week--weeks after Bush asked Congress to act on that front.

The bill gives law enforcement officials new powers to investigate and track down suspected terrorists, including the use of “roving wiretaps,” which allow authorities to eavesdrop on suspects not just from one phone, but from any phone they use. It also includes provisions that would make it easier for criminal investigators and intelligence officers to share information.

The bill had been hung up primarily over the question of whether some of the new police powers should be temporary. The Bush administration wanted them to be permanent. The House version would end key provisions after three years, or five if the president said an extension was needed. That “sunset” provision was included to ease concerns of critics who feared that expanded government surveillance powers posed a threat to civil liberties that was justified only because of the current crisis.

Under the compromise, roving wiretap authority and many other provisions would expire after four years, and the president would not have discretion to extend them. An exception was made, however, for continuing to use the new powers in ongoing investigations that continue past the sunset date.

House and Senate leaders also agreed to a compromise on the money-laundering bill--and to accede to the administration’s request that it be linked to the anti-terrorism measure.

Congress is also making progress on another front: passing the 13 appropriations bills needed to keep the government running, which must be enacted before Congress can adjourn for the year.

In the Senate, however, the big question is when Republicans will stop a weeklong campaign to slow spending bills until Democrats start confirming more of the federal judges Bush has nominated. The Judiciary Committee approved four judges Thursday, but Republicans say that is still not enough. “We’ve got to do better,” said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah).