Story from CNN Politics:
Senators voted on Wednesday night to extend some expiring and contentious parts of the Patriot Act for six months after leaders announced minutes earlier that they had reached a bipartisan agreement.
Last week, the House voted 251-174 to renew the 16 provisions after striking a compromise that altered some of them. The provisions were set to expire at year's end if not renewed.
Controversial measures include those allowing the FBI -- with a court order -- to obtain secret warrants for business, library, medical and other records, and to get a wiretap on every phone a suspect uses.
The House approved a bill that would have extended most of them permanently, but a filibuster after the bill reached the Senate stopped the measure from moving forward.
Republican leaders tried to break the filibuster Friday, but could muster only 52 of the necessary 60 votes. Four Republicans crossed party lines to oppose the extension.
That vote came on the same day that The New York Times reported that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. residents, without warrants.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, cited the newspaper report as the reason he opposed permanently renewing the Patriot Act provisions, and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, called the newspaper's revelation "devastating" to the renewal effort.More as it becomes available.
1 Comment:
One of my problems with Bush is that he believes the President has total authority.
The Executive branch is co-equal to the Legislative and Judicial Branch, and he seems to forget that.
I also dislike that he tries to influence the government with religion. The founders put that into the Constitution so that we didn't become a religion-controlled government.
(I would also like to point out that my word verification is "booger")
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