UPDATE 4-U.S. Senate passes spy bill, phone immunity

(Updates with White House comment)

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill on Tuesday granting retroactive immunity from lawsuits to telecommunications companies that took part in President George W. Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program.

The vote was a victory for the White House after months of wrangling, but it was unclear whether the House of Representatives, also led by Democrats, would approve the measure to expand the government's spying powers and shield firms from potentially billions of dollars in civil damages.

About 40 civil lawsuits have been filed accusing AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) of violating Americans' privacy rights in helping the warrantless domestic spying program started shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Passed by the Senate on a vote of 68-29, the bill would replace a temporary spy law set to expire this week that expanded the power of U.S. authorities to track enemy targets without a court order.

In addition, the Senate bill would bolster the protection of privacy rights of law-abiding Americans swept up in the hunt for suspected terrorists.

Bush and Congress agreed last month to a 15-day extension of the expiring surveillance law -- to this coming Saturday -- to provide more time to resolve differences.

House Democrats, who have opposed immunity for the phone companies, plan to bring up for a vote as early as Wednesday another proposed extension, this one for 21 days, a top aide said.