House Gives Patriot Act Five-Week Extension, Senate Expected to Approve

On Wednesday, February 1, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend the USA Patriot Act for five weeks, giving lawmakers until Friday, March 10, to hash out differences over a number of expiring provisions of the Act. This is the second five-week extension of the Patriot Act, resulting from the efforts of a bipartisan group of U.S. senators who are seeking to craft a bill that includes stronger provisions to ensure the privacy of America's readers. The first extension, passed in the waning hours of the last Congressional session in late December, was due to expire on February 3. The Senate is expected to approve the extension this week.

Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), who had joined with three other Republicans and Senate Democrats in blocking reauthorization of the Patriot Act conference report in December, noted that negotiations with the White House "had produced significant results in three of the four areas of concern his group raised," as reported by Congressional Quarterly Today. He also said he expected discussions with the White House to conclude by the end of the week.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told CQ Today that "his caucus would be willing to support the stalled version of the reauthorization bill with 'modest improvements.'"

As with the previous extension, the sponsors of the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP) -- the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and PEN American Center -- stressed to supporters of reader privacy that the objective of the campaign has not been altered by the new deadline. "We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the final version is as protective of reader privacy as possible," said ABA COO Oren Teicher.