The House voted Thursday to make permanent most of the key provisions of the USA Patriot Act, the sweeping law that was passed in the weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and that greatly expanded law enforcement powers to investigate suspected terrorists.
Just hours after the London transit system was bombed for the second time in two weeks, House members opened a daylong debate on the Patriot Act.
Supporters of the law said the London attacks underscored the importance of the act, which the Bush administration has said is a vital tool in the fight against terrorism. Critics said that Congress should more thoroughly review and amend a law that they contended was passed in haste and could allow government abuses of privacy and civil liberties.
The bill passed on a largely partisan vote of 257-171 after the Republican-controlled House -- over the objections of Democrats -- limited debate to fewer than half of the proposed amendments.
But in the House and the Senate, which will take up its version of the legislation soon, the Republican majorities seem to be moving toward something less than the blanket reauthorization of the Patriot Act that President Bush has publicly urged.
Bush alluded to that possibility in a statement late Thursday acknowledging the House vote. "The Patriot Act is a key part of our efforts to combat terrorism and protect the American people," he said. "And the Congress needs to send me a bill soon that renews the act without weakening our ability to fight terror."
He has urged Congress to make permanent all 16 provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of this year. The House measure comes close, making 14 of the provisions permanent.
But it would limit renewal of two of the more controversial sections to 10 years: One permits phone wiretaps to apply to any telephone a suspect uses, including cellphones, and not just a specific telephone number. The other allows the government to go to a secret court for permission to search a broad array of personal records, including library and medical records.
Among the sections the House bill would make permanent is one that allows greater information-sharing among intelligence agencies, federal prosecutors and grand juries, and another that allows nationwide search warrants for electronic evidence.
