Washington – The Senate on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to renew the USA Patriot Act, after months of debate over legislation that supporters said struck a better balance between privacy rights and the government’s power to hunt down terrorists.
The 89-10 vote marked a bright spot in President Bush’s troubled second term as his approval ratings dipped over the war in Iraq and his administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Renewing the act, congressional Republicans said, was key to preventing more terror attacks in the United States.
Bush, in a statement issued by the White House while he was in India, applauded the Senate for overcoming what he said were attempts by Democrats to block the bill’s passage.
Critics maintained the bill is weighted too much toward the interests of law enforcement.
The House was expected to pass the legislation next week and send it to Bush, who would sign it before 16 provisions expire March 10.
A December filibuster led by Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and joined by several libertarian-leaning Republicans, forced the Bush administration to agree to modest new curbs on government power.
Both of Colorado’s senators voted for renewal of the law.
“While I support the Patriot Act, I do believe there are additional protections for civil liberties that should be enacted,” said Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat, while Sen. Wayne Allard, a Republican, called the final bill “a compromise that strikes a responsible balance between protecting our country and its people and securing our civil liberties.”
Some lawmakers who voted for the package acknowledged deep reservations about the power it would grant to any president.
