The House Renews the Patriot Act

On Monday night the House of Representatives extended the provisions of the Patriot Act, a legislative arsenal to combat terrorism, set up by the George W. Bush administration after Sept. 11, 2001, which expires in late February.

The representatives adopted the law by 275 votes against 144.

This vote comes after the first vote, which didn’t pass last Tuesday, when Republicans tried to pass the law through a simplified procedure in order to eliminate any debate.

This maneuver caused the defection of several elected officials from the ultraconservative movement the tea party, and the bill had been blocked.

Three major measures are in play: the “mobile surveillance” of suspects’ communications using multiple phone lines; the principle of the “lone wolf” who can investigate a person purporting to conduct terrorist activities on their own account; and the possibility for authorities to access “all tangible data” concerning a suspect, such as emails.

The continuation of these measures until Dec. 8 doesn’t exactly correspond with the wishes of the White House who demanded an extension until 2013, but the Presidential office said last week in a statement that it would “not oppose” the Bill in the House.

The House Republicans hope to use the coming months to negotiate a more long-term, perhaps permanent, extension.

The law, conceived after Sept. 11 to try to remedy the shortcomings of the U.S. authorities in the fight against terrorism, is highly controversial because of the exceptional powers it gives to security forces.

In the Senate, debate on the practical details of the extension will be even more complicated because several competing bills were filed.

The Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy, proposes an extension of these measures until Dec. 2013.

The Senate Republicans want a permanent extension of these measures, but unlike their colleagues in the House, they are the minority.