Good news. I was heading for the bunker if they didn't do this, now I know I'm safe. Hasn't his excellency threatened to veto this?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562008/
WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a six-month extension of the USA Patriot Act late Wednesday night, hoping to avoid the expiration of law enforcement powers deemed vital in the war on terror.
Approval came on a voice vote, and cleared the way for a final vote in the House.
Several provisions in the current law expire Dec. 31, and President Bush has called repeatedly for new legislation.
The House was scheduled to reconvene Thursday, but senior Republicans there have opposed any temporary extension of the current law, insisting that most of the expiring provisions should be renewed permanently.
The Senate vote Wednesday night capped several days of backroom negotiation conducted against the backdrop of presidential attacks on critics of the legislation.
The extension gives critics — who successfully filibustered a House-Senate compromise that would have made most of the law permanent — more time to seek civil liberty safeguards in the law. Democrats and their allies had originally asked for a three-month extension, and the Senate’s Republican majority had offered a one-year extension. The final deal split the difference.
“For a lot of reasons, it made the most sense, given that there are significant differences that remain,” said GOP Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, one of a small group of Republicans who joined with Senate Democrats to filibuster a House-Senate compromise.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562008/
WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a six-month extension of the USA Patriot Act late Wednesday night, hoping to avoid the expiration of law enforcement powers deemed vital in the war on terror.
Approval came on a voice vote, and cleared the way for a final vote in the House.
Several provisions in the current law expire Dec. 31, and President Bush has called repeatedly for new legislation.
The House was scheduled to reconvene Thursday, but senior Republicans there have opposed any temporary extension of the current law, insisting that most of the expiring provisions should be renewed permanently.
The Senate vote Wednesday night capped several days of backroom negotiation conducted against the backdrop of presidential attacks on critics of the legislation.
The extension gives critics — who successfully filibustered a House-Senate compromise that would have made most of the law permanent — more time to seek civil liberty safeguards in the law. Democrats and their allies had originally asked for a three-month extension, and the Senate’s Republican majority had offered a one-year extension. The final deal split the difference.
“For a lot of reasons, it made the most sense, given that there are significant differences that remain,” said GOP Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, one of a small group of Republicans who joined with Senate Democrats to filibuster a House-Senate compromise.
