Congress renews Patriot Act for one month

WASHINGTON - Congress gave the Bush administration's anti-terrorism powers one more month of life Thursday, with work finished by a lone senator sitting in the virtually empty Senate chamber.

Congress also finalized a defense spending bill that funnels extra money to the Gulf Coast and Iraq. The GOP-run Congress completed the two bills in a scramble to finish a year complicated by standoffs with Democrats and disagreements among Republicans.

The House had passed a one-month extension of the Patriot Act on Thursday and sent it to the Senate, which passed it Thursday evening, ahead of the Dec. 31 expiration date of some anti-terror law enforcement provisions.

Approval in the House came on a voice vote in a nearly empty chamber after Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, refused to agree to a six-month extension the Senate had cleared several hours earlier.

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

The Senate passage marked the latest step in a stalemate that first pitted Republicans against Democrats in the Senate, then turned into an intramural GOP dispute.

Plea from Bush
Without action by Congress, several provisions of the law enacted in the days following the 2001 terror attacks were due to expire. Bush has repeatedly called on Congress not to let that happen.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said President Bush would sign a one-month extension.

In a statement Thursday, the president said, “I will work closely with the House and Senate to make sure that we are not without this crucial law for even a day.”

The Senate vote Wednesday night marked a turnabout for GOP leaders, who had long insisted they would accept nothing less than a permanent renewal of the law. The House approved the measure earlier this month, but a Democratic-led filibuster blocked passage in the Senate, with critics arguing the bill would shortchange the civil liberties of innocent Americans.

Passage of a one-month extension means lawmakers will debate the issue early in 2006, and is certain to require concessions to the Senate critics who are seeking greater privacy protections.

The Senate's six-month extension came Wednesday night as Bush left Washington believing that Congress would not let the provisions expire.

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