House approves 5-week extension of Patriot Act

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives yesterday voted to extend the USA Patriot Act for just five weeks, after the chairman of a key House committee objected to the six-month extension passed by the Senate on Wednesday.

Senators were expected to approve the shorter extension last night to ensure that the expanded law-enforcement powers the act authorizes don't expire at the end of the year. President Bush indicated he will sign the extension, but the short timetable could make it difficult for senators who want more civil-liberties protections inserted in the law to prevail.

House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr., who objected to the six-month extension since it would delay final resolution too long, said he has no interest in reopening negotiations with the Senate over the Patriot Act, and agreed to a one-month extension only to stop the law from expiring.

''The security of the American people must not be held hostage to the partisan brinksmanship of a minority of obstructionist senators," said Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican. ''There are no more negotiations. Either the conference report passes, or the entire legislative process starts from scratch."

The surprise move came just hours after senators reached a late-night, last-minute compromise that ended a Democratic-led filibuster. Under the Senate agreement reached late Wednesday, the Patriot Act would have remained in effect for six months while both sides tried to agree on adding judicial oversight to the law.

Senator John E. Sununu of New Hampshire, a key proponent of the civil liberties protections, said yesterday that he's confident that lawmakers can reach common ground within the five-week window. He and his colleagues initially wanted a three-month extension, but GOP leaders in the Senate insisted on six months.

''One month is much closer to what we were originally pursuing, and I think it will work just fine," said Sununu, a Republican. ''Our goal is simply to have a little bit of additional time, where we're not pressed by the end of the session, where we can work out the few differences that remain."

Democratic senators echoed his point, and warned that they will continue to fight a bill that does not protect individual freedoms.

''No one should make the mistake of thinking that a shorter extension will make it possible to jam the unacceptable [House version] through the Congress," said Senator Russell Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin. ''That bill is dead and cannot be revived."

But the shorter extension means there's little time left before the law's Feb. 3 expiration date, with many members of Congress scattered to their home states for the holidays.

And senators, particularly those on the judiciary committee, which has jurisdiction over the Patriot Act, are expected to spend much of January on hearings and debate over Samuel A. Alito Jr., the president's nominee for the Supreme Court.

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said that five weeks isn't enough time to fully consider sensitive issues the Patriot Act raises. ''It appears we will only be given one month for that national debate," Pelosi, Democrat of California, said in a statement entered into the Congressional Record yesterday.

Still, Democrats didn't stand in the way of the five-week extension, since they didn't want to be seen as responsible for killing the Patriot Act altogether.

''There is a very crucial debate in this country today about the rights of American citizens to privacy, and about the proper role of the Congress and the courts in assuring that no one -- not even the president -- tramples on those basic private rights without complying with the law," Pelosi said.

Sensenbrenner insisted on the five-week deadline even though Senate Republican leaders and the White House endorsed the six-month deal. On his way to his holiday vacation at Camp David, the president indicated to reporters that he thought a six-month deadline was appropriate.

After the House vote, Bush applauded both the House and Senate for extending the Patriot Act, and attacked Democrats for having threatened to hold it up.

''Our nation's security must be above partisan politics," Bush said in a statement. ''I will work closely with the House and Senate to make sure that we are not without this crucial law for even a day."

Yet talks between the House and Senate are expected to be rocky.

The recent disclosure that Bush secretly authorized the government to spy on Americans could complicate the debate. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said his party will demand more information about warrant-less wiretaps and the government's surveillance activities before agreeing to extend the Patriot Act. ''Congress can swiftly address the outstanding concerns with the Patriot Act," Kennedy said. ''We need not only bipartisan but also bicameral consensus, to restore the public trust."