House Votes to Extend Patriot Act
he House Thursday voted to indefinitely extend the USA Patriot Act, the sweeping security law passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the Associated Press reported.
Lawmakers extended the law by 257-171 renewing key provisions of the law that were set to expire at the end of this year, AP said.
The measure did limit to 10 years two provisions of the law that have become controversial in the ongoing congressional debate: allowing federal agents to use roving wiretaps and to search library and medical records, AP reported.
The full Senate likely will vote on the bill in the fall, before the competing measures are reconciled in a conference committee, AP said.
President Bush, who pushed for the law’s renewal during a visit to the Port of Baltimore Wednesday, backed the House vote, the White House said in a statement.
“The Patriot Act is a key part of our efforts to combat terrorism and protect the American people, and the Congress needs to send me a bill soon that renews the act without weakening our ability to fight terror,” the statement said.
Nine Republicans broke ranks and voted with a united Democratic bloc on a last-ditch effort to make all 16 of the Patriot Act's most sensitive provisions subject to an additional four-year “sunset” period, AP reported. That provision was defeated by 218-209 vote.
Critics, while backing most of the Patriot Act, said the sunsets were wisely inserted amid inflamed passions following the 9/11 attacks and should be retained to assess the long-term impact of the law, AP reported.
