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Bush pushes Congress to renew the Patriot Act New Jersey Star-Ledger | October 5 2005 WASHINGTON -- President Bush yesterday called on Congress to deliver a Patriot Act renewal bill to his desk, noting that unlike parts of the law, "terrorist threats won't expire." Congress has until the end of the year to renew 16 provisions of the Patriot Act or they will expire. The House and Senate have passed differing bills to renew the provisions, but conferees have yet to begin the process of reconciling the two measures. "We've also got to continue to make sure we meet our obligations to prevent further terrorist attack. One of the most important, effective tools for safeguarding our country is the Patriot Act," Bush said. Bush made the plea at a White House press conference during which he also discussed his recent Supreme Court nominations, the hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast, the war in Iraq and avian flu. "It's a positive piece of legislation. Parts of it are set to expire. Congress needs to recognize that terrorist threats won't expire. And so they need to send me a bill that reauthorizes the Patriot Act," the president said. The Patriot Act was passed by Congress 45 days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and provided new tools for law enforcement to protect the homeland from terrorism. While Bush and Attorney General Albert Gonzales
have said the bill has made Americans safer, civil libertarians believe
some provisions give law enforcement authorities too much power to snoop
on average Americans. |
