UPDATE: Senate Passes FY2010 Intelligence Authorization Bill

UPDATE, AUGUST 10: The House did not take up this bill during its one day return according to Congress Daily (subscription required). The publication stated that House Speaker Pelosi remains dissatisfied with the provisions in the bill regarding who in Congress should be briefed on highly classified intelligence matters. Congress Daily says that this was the last best chance for the bill to be passed by the House this year, and the lack of action dooms the bill.

ORIGINAL STORY: Fiscal Year 2010 may almost be over, but the Senate yesterday passed the FY2010 Intelligence Authorization bill. Agreement on the bill has been stymied since last summer over provisions regarding who in Congress should be briefed on the most highly sensitive intelligence matters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has been adamant that all members of the House and Senate intelligence committees be briefed rather than only the chairs and ranking members (plus four other congressional leaders — the so-called “gang of eight”) as is current practice, which the White House does not want to change. Congress Daily (subscription required) reports that the Senate-passed bill reflects agreement with the White House, but that although Speaker Pelosi has not yet endorsed it, she may be pressured to bring the bill up for a vote next week when the House reconvenes to pass the state aid bill to pay for teachers and Medicaid.