President Bush today called on Congress to make permanent a law that gives the government broad authority to eavesdrop without warrants on phone calls, e-mail and other communication between people in the United States and suspected terrorists abroad.

The president wants Congress to extend the law, set to expire in February, that allows spy agencies to intercept the communications of suspected terrorists that pass through U.S. switching facilities.

"It is the job of Congress to give the professionals the tools they need to do their work as effectively as possible," Bush said during a visit to the headquarters of the National Security Agency in Fort Meade.

The Bush administration, facing harsh criticism over its warrantless eavesdropping program, has launched a new effort to win support for the law, which Congress temporarily extended last month. In recent days, the administration has sent top intelligence officials to Capitol Hill in an effort to assure Democratic lawmakers that the law will not result in domestic surveillance without a court order, as some critics have charged.

Bush Asks Congress To Extend NSA Program