Bush suffers Patriot Act defeat
BBC News 23rd December 2005
The US Congress has voted to trim an extension of the anti-terror
law known as the Patriot Act down to a month.
The move is a rebuff to President George W Bush who wanted the
legislation extended indefinitely.
The Patriot Act, introduced after the 11 September attacks, gives
the US government extra powers to monitor terrorism suspects and
their finances.
Democrats have grown increasingly concerned, believing the Act
infringes on Americans' civil liberties.
The restricted extension to the life of the Patriot Act means it
will again be debated in Congress in January.
For the White House, that will be an unwelcome addition to a
crowded political diary in a year when the focus will be on the
mid-term elections, says the BBC's Daniela Relph in
Washington.
Safeguards
Approval for the shorter deadline came in a vote after Republican
James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee,
refused to agree to a six-month extension which had been passed by
the Senate on Wednesday.
He said such an extension would allow the Senate to duck the issue
of whether to renew 16 provisions of the Patriot Act, negotiate a
new bill or extend the 2001 law further.
The Senate reconvened late on Thursday and swiftly approved the
one-month extension.
The White House had lobbied determinedly for the provisions to be
passed and hoped to satisfy critics by adding new safeguards and
expiration dates for the most controversial elements.
These included roving phone taps and secret warrants for documents
from businesses and hospitals, and for records of library books
taken out by private citizens.
'Under threat'
President Bush had urged a longer extension, saying that "our
nation's security must be above partisan politics".
But Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said his party had sought a
short-term extension in order "to seek a Patriot Act that gives the
government the tools it needs to fight the terrorists, while still
protecting the rights of innocent Americans."
The president said he would sign the one-month extension into
law.
"It appears to me that the Congress understands we got to keep the
Patriot Act in place, that we're still under threat, there's still
an enemy that wants to harm us," he said.
The House of Representatives also approved a $453.3bn defence
budget, which includes $50bn for operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
