While You Were Sleeping Patriot Renewal Act Passed

[Clara T]

So long America, if there ever was such a thing.


The House of Ill Repute

House approves Patriot Act renewal

Approval sends measure to Bush's desk before deadline

Tuesday, March 7, 2006; Posted: 7:47 p.m. EST (00:47 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Congress on Tuesday renewed controversial provisions of the USA Patriot Act, the 2001 law passed weeks after the September 11 attacks to help the government investigate and capture possible terrorists.


The approval in the House of Representatives sent the measure to President Bush for his signature. The Senate last week voted 89-10 to approve the compromise package, which covers 16 provisions in the act that are set to expire on March 10.

"At last the Patriot Act will be reauthorized. And it's about time. It should not not have taken this long," Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, said after last week's vote. "And in the form in which it's reauthorized, it will make America more secure, and that's the bottom line."



Three provisions of the renewed act would be reviewed in four years; the other provisions are permanent.
"Law enforcement officials and the intelligence community will not have to guess what the law will be. They will have the tools to fight terrorism," Kyl said.



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Among the more controversial provisions are the "roving wiretap" portion and the "sneak and peek" section. The first allows the government to get a wiretap on every phone a suspect uses, while the second allows federal investigators to get access to library, business and medical records without a court order.



http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/07/patriot.act/index.html