Reply #24: House passes a one-month extension of the Patriot Act [View All]

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/22/patriot.act.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House passed a one-month extension of the Patriot Act on Thursday and sent it to the Senate for final action as Congress scrambled to prevent expiration of anti-terror law enforcement provisions on December 31.

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

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

It was not clear when the Senate would act on the one-month bill, but approval was possible by evening.

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