The uproar over the white-hot Democratic presidential race isn't the only political game in town as a congressman and a Fortune 500 company from San Antonio brace for a potential donnybrook. After Democrats in the House of Representatives failed to pass a temporary extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act last week, they adjourned without taking any further action. President Bush angrily played the fear card again before leaving for his state visit to Africa, claiming "as terrorists change their tactics to avoid our surveillance, we may not have the tools we need to continue tracking them."

The sticking point for Democrats in the House was a provision in the FISA renewal approved by the Senate granting immunity to telecommunications companies that facilitated government programs to wiretap U.S. computer and phone lines without obtaining warrants from the secret FISA court set up to oversee such activities. Dozens of lawsuits are already pending against the telecom giants