Patriot Act gets one-month extension
The Senate briefly convened Thursday and passed a bill extending controversial provisions of the USA Patriot Act just a few hours after the House voted to extend them for one month, five months fewer than the Senate proposed Wednesday night.
The 16 provisions, set to expire at year’s end, would remain in effect until February 3 with the president’s signature. Failure to pass the bill could have led to the first special session of Congress in more than 70 years.
The original House version of the bill was scuttled by a Senate filibuster last week, forcing senators to reach a compromise that extended the 16 controversial provisions for six months so the act could be retooled. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, trimmed the extension to one month Thursday.
Now the bill awaits the signature of President Bush, who had said he wanted the key provisions of the legislation renewed and would veto a three-month extension. But a senior White House official said Thursday the president would approve the even shorter extension.
Source: CNN
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