House Insists on 1-Month Patriot Extension

The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a Senate plan to extend the USA Patriot Act by six months, opting instead for only a one-month extension.

The Senate had sought the longer extension to give Congress and the Bush administration time to work out differences over the controversial issue.

The House also approved a $460 billion defense bill version that did not include a provision to open Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. But, final agreement on a major budget measure that would trim federal spending by nearly $40 billion over five years was put off until next year, The Washington Post said Friday.

One of the most contentious disputes was over whether to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act. The White house wants the bill to become permanent law, but the Senate wanted more time to debate it, settling on a six-month extension. Some previsions of the Patriot Act expire Dec. 31.

But, House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., refused to go along with the agreement, forcing Congress to reconsider the act when it reconvenes next month.