Lawmakers Punt Patriot Act to Obama - Wired

Congress is sending President Barack Obama legislation that extends three provisions of the Patriot Act -- despite heated debate among lawmakers that the surveillance measure goes too far.

The act, hastily adopted six weeks after the 2001 terror attacks, greatly expands the government’s ability to spy on Americans in the name of national security. Three measures of the act were set to expire at the end of 2009, but in December lawmakers extended the deadline to the end of February in hopes of reaching a compromise.

But no deal was reached by the end of the new Feb. 28 deadline. Instead, the Senate and House of Representatives ditched their two conflicting measures and extended the Patriot Act for another year without any changes. The final package was sent to the president Thursday for his expected signature.

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