Last night, the House passed legislation aimed at preventing illegal government spying. Attached as an amendment [PDF] to the intelligence budget authorization bill, the legislation reaffirms that the NSA's domestic surveillance program must comply with Congress' laws.

Meanwhile, the House did not pass a Bush Administration proposal that would radically expand the government's ability to spy without warrants while also threatening to let telecom providers off the hook for assisting in the illegal NSA program.

Aggressive Congressional action to stop the illegal spying is long overdue, and this is an important first step in the right direction. Your letters and phone calls to Congress have been invaluable in getting this far, and we need your help to make yesterday's victory stick.

We're hearing that the Bush Administration is pushing hard to sneak its dangerous proposal into the Senate version of the intelligence budget bill next week. Please use our action center to see if your Senator is on the Intelligence Committee and call Congress now.

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