Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration has agreed to expand its briefings on the government's terrorist wiretapping program to all members of the U.S. House and Senate intelligence committees, a White House spokeswoman said.

House panel members received their first briefing today on the warrantless eavesdropping program, which monitors phone calls and e-mails between people in the U.S. and suspected terrorists overseas. Members of the Senate panel will be briefed tomorrow.

Briefings on the program had been limited to House and Senate leaders and senior members of the intelligence committees. Democrats and some Republicans have criticized the program, saying it violates a 1978 law governing electronic surveillance and was operated without proper consultation with Congress.

``We were able to provide some additional information to give them a greater understanding of how this program is tailored and structured,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. ``Full details have been reserved for the appropriate members of Congress.''

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican, called today's briefing ``a huge step forward'' and said it was nearly identical to information already provided to congressional leaders and senior panel members, except for some ``technical aspects.''

``There's very little left to the imagination of individual members of the committee,'' he told reporters in Washington. ``This really provides us with a better framework to go out and do oversight.''

Specter

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said that he'll introduce legislation that would require President George W. Bush to have a special court examine the wiretapping program.

Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, said the secret court, which was established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is a needed check on such programs.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the program before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 6, calling it a legal tool needed to help stop al-Qaeda from attacking the U.S. again.

``It is the modern equivalent to a scout team sent ahead to do reconnaissance or a series of radar outposts designed to detect enemy movements,'' Gonzales said before the Senate committee. ``As with all wartime operations, speed, agility and secrecy are essential to its success.''

Bush confirmed the existence of the wiretapping program after the New York Times disclosed it in December. Last week, Bush said in his State of the Union address that the program is essential to U.S. security.

Intelligence

Gonzales and Air Force General Michael Hayden, the top deputy to the director of U.S. national intelligence, spent almost four hours briefing the House committee this afternoon. More briefings on the program with other intelligence officials are likely, Hoekstra said.

``We have to start from the facts and the place to get those facts is the House Intelligence Committee,'' Heather Wilson, a New Mexico Republican, told reporters. Wilson is chairwoman of a subcommittee that oversees the U.S. National Security Agency. ``This is the beginning of a series of questions and engagement.''

Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow will receive a similar briefing, said Sarah Little, a spokeswoman for the chairman of the Senate panel, Pat Roberts.

Wilson said it was too early in the briefings to draw any conclusions on the program's operations or legality, but that it may be necessary to revisit surveillance legislation.

`Substantial Power'

``We need to make sure that our statutes keep pace with technology,'' she said. ``Substantial power is given to the Congress and we have to exercise it.''

Hoekstra agreed that surveillance laws need to be updated and said the decision to brief all members of the committee will allow lawmakers to focus on legislation and the program's operation instead of which members know what.

``Let's not have a debate about who knows and who doesn't,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 8, 2006 18:52 EST