Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- A Senate committee dealt a bipartisan rebuff to President George W. Bush by approving military tribunal legislation that would give more legal protection to suspected terrorists than the administration wants.

Four of the 13 Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee joined all 11 Democrats to pass their version of the measure, rejecting Bush's proposal to bar defendants from seeing classified evidence prosecutors may want to use in court. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed the Senate approach, warning that the Bush administration is risking the safety of U.S. troops and worldwide opinion by permitting harsh treatment of detainees.

The committee acted just hours after the president made an unusual visit to Capitol Hill to urge support for his proposals on domestic eavesdropping and military tribunals. Bush warned the Senate version would restrict the ability of intelligence operatives ``to interrogate people who have information about future attacks.''

Virginia Senator John Warner, the panel's Republican chairman and a former Navy secretary, defended the legislation. ``We want to ensure that our intelligence system is able to perform its vital function,'' he said. ``Nothing is intended in this bill to do other than seeing that the system goes forward.''

House Action

Yesterday, the House Armed Services Committee voted 52-8 to adopt a measure that closely resembles the president's military tribunal proposal. The administration is encountering more resistance in the Senate.

Today's Senate Armed Services Committee vote would let suspected terrorists see evidence used against them and would bar statements obtained through torture or inhumane treatment. It also would authorize military judges to fashion declassified summaries of evidence and to dismiss charges if the prosecutors don't consent to the disclosures.

The legislation is needed to restart war-crimes tribunals Bush set up at the U.S. Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Supreme Court invalidated those tribunals in June, ruling that they fail to incorporate the 1949 Geneva Conventions to protect war prisoners.

Supreme Court Ruling

Warner said Congress must ensure that the law it enacts comports with the high court ruling. ``It would be a very serious blow to the credibility'' of the U.S. if the measure ``failed to meet a second Supreme Court review,'' he said.

Republican opposition to Bush's plan has complicated the party's strategy of highlighting national security issues before Congress adjourns to campaign for the Nov. 7 election.

Senate Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee has said he may call up the president's proposal for debate on the Senate floor, blocking the committee measure. If that happens, Arizona Senator John McCain said he would propose amendments to change the administration version.

Warner and McCain joined fellow Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine in voting for the committee version.

The panel rejected Bush's proposal to redefine the terms ``cruel, inhumane and degrading'' in describing treatment barred by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Bush seeks to define the treaty as barring ``severe physical or mental pain'' and ``severe physical abuse.''

Captive Troops

Changing the definitions could expose captured Americans to greater risks, the senators argue. Other nations would see the change as an opportunity to reinterpret the conventions.

When Americans are captured in future wars, U.S. soldiers and intelligence operatives ``will then be turned over to the secret police,'' said McCain, a former Navy pilot in the Vietnam War who was tortured during more than five years of enemy captivity.

Powell, in a letter to McCain, endorsed the Senate measure. ``The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism,'' he said.

Bush is seeking the change to give military and Central Intelligence Agency interrogators more flexibility to question detainees and continue the program of questioning suspected terrorists. ``I will resist any bill that does not enable the program to go forward,'' he said.

McCain argued that the committee's legislation, which amends the War Crimes Act, gives CIA agents ``complete protection'' from criminal prosecution and civil suit. He accused CIA Director Michael V. Hayden of seeking to be ``immunized not from liability but from criticism.''

Interrogation Techniques

``If one of his techniques is made public and gets criticized, he can say, `Well, Congress told me to do it,''' McCain told reporters. ``He is trying to protect his reputation at the risk of America's reputation.''

Bush on Sept. 6 announced the transfer to Guantanamo Bay of 14 high-value al-Qaeda prisoners from CIA prisons. He said the CIA had gained valuable information from their interrogations that helped thwart terrorist plots. Bush said the CIA will continue using ``black sites'' to question captured terrorists.

``General Hayden wants to protect the people who work for him -- people who take risks and put their lives on the line to help keep all Americans safe,'' said CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield. ``He wants to make sure that the activities of CIA officers continue to be in full compliance with the law.''

The measure approved today would bar civil suits against CIA agents or military personnel by detainees for injuries or death that cite Geneva Conventions protections. It would allow prosecution of U.S. interrogators for ``grave breaches'' of the conventions under the War Crimes Act.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 14, 2006 17:23 EDT