Senate Agrees To Six Month Extension

Excerpts from Associated Press

The deal…would still need to get the approval of the Republican-controlled House and President Bush, but it would keep the Patriot Act provisions from expiring on Dec. 31.

[CAIR Note: The U.S. House will reconvene in a pro forma session, in form only, at 4 p.m. Thursday. Senate Leader Frist has said he did not consult with House leaders while agreeing to the six-month compromise.]

Excerpts from National Journal:

The extension is a defeat for President Bush, who earlier in the day excoriated Democrats for blocking reauthorization of the expiring provisions and putting the nation at risk of terrorism attacks, although Bush late Wednesday indicated he would sign the extension.

[Senate Majority Leader Bill] Frist had insisted up until Wednesday morning that he would not accept a short-term extension of the current law. Republicans over the past several days floated various proposals to maintain the status quo and to extend the 16 expiring provisions. But that position softened after a Senate aide said Senate Judiciary Chairman Specter had managed to convince the four Republicans who voted against cloture to switch their votes but were still four votes short of the 60 needed to limit debate and bring the bill to a vote.

Also from the Associated Press

The agreement capped several days of backroom negotiation conducted against the backdrop of presidential attacks on critics of the legislation. The Patriot Act provisions will expire on Dec. 31 if the House and Senate do not act.

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.