Despite a deep divide among Democrats, the Senate is expected to clear legislation this week overhauling electronic surveillance rules that would grant President Bush much of what he has sought in a lengthy struggle with Congress.

    With no senators threatening to hold up the bill (HR 6304), one of the last hopes for opponents faded June 20 when Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois announced he would vote for the legislation. Some civil liberties groups that oppose the measure had called on Obama to use his position in the party to derail it.

    The bill to rewrite the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA, PL95-511) would almost certainly lead to the dismissal of lawsuits against telecommunications companies accused of aiding the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program. In the House, the measure passed with the support of 105 Democrats and 188 Republicans.

    Senators agreed to take up the measure quickly and could clear it as early as Monday.

    If the Senate clears the bill, it will give Bush much of what he wants in terms of spying powers and protection for the telecommunications companies.

    "My director of national intelligence and the attorney general tells me that this is a good bill," Bush said on June 20, shortly before the House passed the measure. "It will help our intelligence professionals learn our enemies' plans for new attacks. It ensures that those companies whose assistance is necessary to protect the country will themselves be protected from liability for past or future cooperation with the government."

    Opponents Counted on Obama

    With Congress on the verge of delivering the bill to Bush's desk, some opponents had sought out Obama to take a stand.

    "I would call on Senator Obama to be as vocal as possible in the coming days and weeks and lead his party on this issue," Kevin Bankston, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said prior to Obama's announcement that he would support the bill. The foundation has filed one of the lawsuits against the telecoms.

    Obama voted against the White House-backed bill that passed the Senate in February (HR 3773), and his campaign released a statement last year expressing concern about that bill's "provision on giving retroactive immunity to the telephone companies."

    While a statement released by his campaign acknowledged that the new legislation would probably result in immunity for the companies, Obama indicated he would support the measure but monitor its results.

    "It is not all that I would want," Obama said. "But given the legitimate threats that we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay."

    Obama said he would try to get the immunity provision stripped, but previous votes to do so in the Senate have failed.

    House members who voted against the bill said its expansion of the president's surveillance powers would gut Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

    "This bill scares me to death," said Rep. Barbara Lee , D-Calif.

    But supporters said the measure was an improvement over the earlier Senate bill, which contained less court and congressional oversight. Some conservative Democrats have been pressing House leaders to take up that legislation all year long, and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer , a Maryland Democrat, said their support for that bill forced Democratic negotiators into a reluctant compromise.

    "It's not a happy occasion, but it's the work we have to do," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif. She said the debate on the legislation was "valuable for making the bill better, if not good enough, but certainly preferable to the alternative we have."

    Immunity for Telecoms Assured

    Under the bill, a federal district court would rule that all existing lawsuits against third parties that assisted Bush's warrantless surveillance program would be waived if there was "substantial evidence" they received written assurances that the program was legal and authorized by the president. A Senate Intelligence Committee report on an earlier version of the legislation detailed how the companies had received such assurances from the Justice Department and the White House. Aides and lawmakers consider the court's dismissal of the lawsuits a virtual certainty.

    The legislation also would allow warrantless surveillance of foreigners who may be communicating with people in the United States. Before any such surveillance could begin, the secret FISA court would review the executive branch's targeting and "minimization" procedures. "Minimization" is a term describing how the government reduces retention and dissemination of information on U.S. citizens.

    The administration could begin its surveillance before the FISA court review under a declaration of "exigent," or urgent, circumstances.

    The prior court reviews of the lawsuits and surveillance procedures were concessions that Republicans resisted during negotiations with Democrats but are among provisions that they later accepted.