Spying bill gets support

The bill may run into problems in the Senate, where Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) has used a procedural tactic to prevent a vote. He is one of several senators who have unsuccessfully tried to learn how many Americans were caught up in the surveillance.

House supporters, however, assured Americans that their rights are protected.

"This is about foreigners on foreign soil. It's not a dragnet," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

He said Americans' rights "are alive and well here. This is one of those programs that has an inordinate amount of oversight to make sure we are not targeting Americans. In the odd case where an American is intercepted, there are very strict procedures on how to destroy that information and correct that problem. And it has not happened hardly, frequently, at all."

Opponents argued they're not convinced that Americans would be protected.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.) said: "While it's certainly appropriate for our government to gather foreign intelligence and while some degree of secrecy is necessary, it's also vital in a free society that we limit government, protect the constitutional rights of Americans here and abroad, and limit warrantless spying to genuine foreign intelligence.