US congress agrees to Patriot Act extension

Congress approved a one-month extension of the USA Patriot Act and sent it to President George Bush in a pre-Christmas scramble to prevent many of its anti-terrorism provisions from expiring on December 31.

Most of the Patriot Act – which expanded the government’s surveillance and prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates and financiers – was made permanent when Congress overwhelmingly passed it after the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington.

The Senate, with only Senator John Warner of Virginia present, gave final approval to the new February 3 expiration date last night four hours after the House, also with a near-empty chamber, bowed to Republican James Sensenbrenner’s refusal to agree to a six-month extension the Senate had cleared on Wednesday.

Congress can pass legislation with only a few politicians present as long as no member of the House or Senate objects. The Senate session lasted four minutes.

Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the shorter extension would force swifter Senate action and had the support of the Bush White House and Speaker Dennis Hastert. The Senate reconvenes on January 18, and the House returns on January 26.

“A six-month extension, in my opinion, would have simply allowed the Senate to duck the issue until the last week in June,” the Wisconsin Republican told reporters.

Most Senate Democrats and a few libertarian-leaning Republicans united against a House-Senate compromise that would have renewed several expiring provisions permanently while extending some others for another four years.

Democrats were pleased with a short-term extension, whether for six months or just a few weeks.

“The amount of time is less important than the good-faith effort that will be needed in improving the Patriot Act to strike the right balance in respecting Americans liberty and privacy, while protecting their security,” said Senator Patrick Leahy.

“We’re happy to agree to a shorter-term extension of the Patriot Act,” said Rebecca Kirszner, an aide to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. “The important thing is to strike the right balance between liberty and security.”