Only Feingold voted "No" this time.
Congress Extends Patriot Act Five Weeks
Congress Extends Patriot Act Five Weeks for Second Time on Senate Vote of 95-1
By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press Writer
...The Senate voted 95-1 Thursday night to extend the current law unchanged through March 10 and give negotiators more time to reach a deal. Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., a longtime opponent of the Patriot Act, cast the sole vote against the extension. The House passed it Wednesday.
Several Republican and Democratic officials involved in negotiations said that agreements had been reached on several issues but that others needed more time.
Earlier in the week, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, one of the negotiators who helped block the act's renewal last year, told reporters almost all of his concerns had been worked out with the White House.
He and Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., want parts of the act to be rewritten in several areas, including giving banks, libraries and Internet service providers the right to appeal when the FBI seeks financial and other records of their customers and clients.
...The law makes it easier for federal agents to gather and share information in terrorism investigations, install wiretaps and conduct secret searches of households and businesses. At issue are 16 provisions that Congress wanted reviewed and renewed by the end of last year.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1574592I'm glad to hear that there are now some additional protections for libraries, etc., but I don't know enough about the other specific provisions that remain. I think I'll try to find out what Feingold's remaining objections are.
Do you know more about it, fooj?