U.S. & World

WASHINGTON (CBS News) ― The Senate passed legislation Thursday that endorsed President George W. Bush's plan to prosecute and interrogate terrorism suspects, all but sealing congressional approval for a bill Republicans plan to use on the campaign trail to spotlight their tough stance against terrorists.

The 65-34 vote means the bill could reach the president's desk by week's end to be signed into law. The House of Representatives passed almost identical legislation on Wednesday by 253-168 and was expected to endorse the Senate bill on Friday, then ship it to the White House.

The bill would create military commissions to prosecute terrorism suspects. It also would prohibit blatant abuses of detainees but grant the president flexibility to decide what interrogation techniques are permissible.

The White House and its supporters have called the measure crucial in the anti-terror fight, but some Democrats said it left the door open to abuse, violating the U.S. Constitution in the name of protecting Americans.

There are some "technical corrections" to be dealt, however, and the bill may have to go back to the House for another vote before it goes down to the White House, reports CBS News correspondent John Nolen. The House is expected to vote and pass the bill again Friday.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who helped draft the legislation during negotiations with the White House, said the measure set up a system for treating detainees that the nation can be proud of. He said the goal "is to render justice to the terrorists, even though they will not render justice to us."

Democrats said the Republicans' rush to muscle the measure through Congress was aimed at giving them something to boast about during the campaign, in which control of the House and Senate are at stake. Election Day is Nov. 7.

"There is no question that the rush to pass this bill, which is the product of secret negotiations with the White House, is about serving a political agenda," said Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Senate approval was the latest step in the remarkable journey that Mr. Bush has taken in shaping how the United States treats terrorism suspects it has been holding, some for almost five years without charges.

In June the Supreme Court nullified Mr. Bush's initial system for trying detainees, and this month a handful of maverick senators from Mr. Bush's Republicans embarrassed the president by forcing him to slightly tone down his next proposal. They struck a deal last week, and the president and congressional Republicans are now claiming the episode as a victory.

While Democrats warned the bill could open the way for abuse, Republicans said rejection of the bill would put the country at risk of another terror attack such as the ones on Sept. 11, 2001.

"We are not conducting a law enforcement operation against a check-writing scam or trying to foil a bank heist," said Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. "We are at war against extremists who want to kill our citizens."

Approving the bill before lawmakers leave for the elections has been a top priority for Republicans. Party leaders fought off attempts by Democrats and a lone Republican to change the bill, ensuring swift passage.

Earlier Thursday, the Senate voted 51-48 against an amendment by Sen. Arlen Specter that would have allowed terror suspects to file "habeas corpus" petitions in court. Specter contends the ability to file such pleas is considered a fundamental legal right and is necessary to uncover abuse.

"This is a constitutional requirement and it is fundamental that Congress not legislate contradiction to a constitutional interpretation of the Supreme Court," said Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Three Republicans voted with Specter but others in the GOP caucus contended that providing terror suspects the right to unlimited appeals weighs down the federal court system.

"It impedes the war effort, and it is irresponsible," said Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Democrats sided with Specter.

"The habeas corpus language in this bill is as legally abusive of rights guaranteed in the Constitution as the actions at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and secret prisons that were physically abusive of detainees," said Sen. Carl Levin, the top Democrat on the Armed Services panel.

CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen points out that the reach of the bill has been expanded to include non-citizens who are legal residents of the U.S.

"It's hard to overemphasize the significance of this, coming especially as it does at the 11th hour without very much public debate about its consequences," Cohen said.

"This provision alone gives the executive branch a tremendous amount of unfettered power to detain people who otherwise are here in the United States lawfully and broadens the scope of the detainee bill in a major way."

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)