Good news for those who thought Congress might do away with warrantless wiretapping - it's here to stay!

The House on Friday approved a bill that will provide immunity for telecommunications companies that cooperated with the government's warrantless wiretapping program provided those companies can prove to a federal court that they did so at the direction of the White House .

The measure, which re-authorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) until 2012, was approved by a vote of 293 to 129 after months of back and forth between Democrats, Republicans, and the Bush administration.

It now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to be approved.

At issue is a warrantless surveillance program that helps the government more easily eavesdrop on suspected terrorists.

More details after the jump

Telecommunications companies cooperated with the government, and allowed the National Security Agency access to their networks without any court intervention.

News of telecom participation prompted a slew of lawsuits.

Congress has been working for months to re-authorize FISA, the most recent version of which expired in February.

Earlier this year, the Senate passed a version of the bill that provided telecom companies with retroactive immunity for cooperating with the government. The House, however, approved its own version in March that stripped retroactive immunity, and called on those companies to face the lawsuits against them in the courtroom.

President Bush pushed hard for the Senate version of the bill, and pledged to veto any bill that does not include retroactive immunity.

Find out what else is in the bill at pcmag.com.