The debate over permanently updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) renews today on Capitol Hill, with hearings before the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees.

Congress approved a temporary, six-month update just before its August recess, but Democrats were hammered by the American Civil Liberties Union and other liberal and civil liberties groups over the August break.

White House officials have told me that they expect a tougher fight in Congress to permanently update the law. So today, as the Hill takes on the "Protect America Act," the White House has sent out a list of what it calls the top seven "myths" about FISA modernization:

1. It eliminates civil liberty protections.
2. It gives the federal government new powers to target people in the United States for warrantless surveillance.
3. It allows the government to target Americans in the United States under the guise of surveilling a person located overseas -- a practice known as "reverse targeting."
4. Not updating FISA will not hinder the government's ability to collect intelligence.
5. It authorizes the executive branch to conduct physical searches of domestic mail, computers or the homes of Americans without a warrant.
6. It would allow the government to obtain, without a warrant or any court approval, the business records of Americans in the United States.
7. It allows the intelligence community to intercept communications without any oversight.

You can go to the White House Web site to read the full rebuttals to these "myths." Here is the gist of their argument:

Current law requires U.S. intelligence to go through the FISA court for any surveillance involving targets whose communications go through the U.S. For instance, if two suspects communicate by e-mail or cell phone outside the U.S., but their messages or signals go through a router or tower in the U.S., that case has to go before a FISA judge.

The Bush administration says this is far too cumbersome and is costing them valuable intelligence. They argue that FISA is meant to protect U.S. citizens from inappropriate or unlawful surveillance, but that parts of the law written before e-mail and cell phones were invented need to be updated to factor in new technology.

There are a couple key details. First, U.S. surveillance may not monitor communications between two persons who are both in the U.S., but if a target outside the U.S. is talking to someone in the U.S. about "terrorism or foreign intelligence," then the feds would have a green light under the proposed law.

The White House also says that the proposed law would not authorize any physical searches of mail, computers and homes, or the obtaining of medical or library records, without a warrant.

Lastly, under the Protect America Act, "the attorney general is required to submit for review to the FISA court the procedures by which the federal government determines that the authorized acquisitions of foreign intelligence do not constitute electronic surveillance requiring court approval under FISA."

-- Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times