WASHINGTON — Intelligence and surveillance wars are going to be fought in Washington this week, and Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo., vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is at the center.

Back in August, Bond helped steer through the committee and the Congress a short-term measure that Democrats and Republicans could agree on, called the Protect America Act, “to keep our intelligence community in the business of tracking terrorists, on a short-term basis.”

In October, the committee reached bipartisan agreement on new legislation that resolved most of the partisan differences, but it hasn’t yet been taken up by the full Senate.

 The original six-month, stop-gap measure from August expires on Feb. 1, and rumor is that the Democratic leadership wants to simply pass an extension of the August bill. But Bond and others on the committee say the Senate has had plenty of time to deal with the issue, and they’re going to push for action on the October bill. “Congress will have only eight days to pass a fix before our foreign intelligence surveillance law (FISA) expires,” Bond says. “To continue to stall legislation needed to help our intelligence community prevent attacks and protect American lives is irresponsible.”