That's a positive sign, and Reyes should encourage his House colleagues to follow his lead.

There's bipartisan agreement in both the House and Senate on the need to revise FISA. U.S. intelligence agencies face technological and legal issues that couldn't have been imagined when the law was passed three decades ago.

For several years after 9-11, the Bush administration controversially worked around the law to implement its terrorist surveillance program. Congress has twice passed measures to modernize FISA, but only on a temporary basis. The last legislative patch expired Feb. 17. A permanent solution is needed.

The sticking point between the House and Senate concerns the treatment of telecommunications companies that complied with White House requests to cooperate with the intelligence community following the 9-11 attacks. The Senate measure wisely grants these companies immunity from multibillion-dollar civil liberties lawsuits, acknowledging that they acted in good faith to help protect the nation from terrorist attack.

The House measure lacks such immunity. But after reviewing documents from the Bush administration and speaking with the companies about their role in the terrorist surveillance program, Reyes suggested a compromise was possible.

A FISA fix stripped of immunity is an effort by some Democrats to appease strident liberal groups that want to punish telecom companies for acting in the national interest.

It's also a mistake, as Reyes has evidently come to recognize. The sooner the rest of the House leadership comes to its senses on this issue, the better.