Bush Renews USA Patriot Act
09 March 2006
President Bush has signed into law an extension of the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act.
Mr. Bush said Thursday the United States is safer because of the Act, arguing it has helped officials detect terrorist cells and disrupt terrorist plots.
Congress gave final approval to the legislation earlier in the week, after months of political battles over contentious parts of the law.
The Patriot Act was first enacted after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. It gives investigators broader powers to seize library and medical records as well as to conduct roving wiretaps.
Lawmakers debated how to balance fighting terrorism and protecting Americans while respecting the civil rights of private citizens.
Sixteen provisions of the law were due to expire Friday. The new law makes most of those provisions permanent, while it imposes certain restrictions on what the Patriot Act allows officials to do.
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