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President Bush says he will spend the next 30 days trying to convince
Congress and the American people that the nation needs a permanent
extension of the anti-terrorism laws known as the Patriot Act.
"The American people expect to be protected, and the Patriot Act is a
really important tool for them to stay protected," the president said.
First passed following the September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York
and Washington, those broader police powers were due to expire at the end
of 2005. Congress gave the president just a one-month extension through
February 3 amidst concerns from Democrats and some Republicans that parts
of the Patriot Act threaten civil liberties.
The laws give investigators broader powers to seize library and medical
records as well as to conduct roving wiretaps.
Opponents are also concerned about what they say is limited Congressional
and judicial oversight.
President Bush says there is plenty of oversight in the Patriot Act. He
says critics are putting partisan politics ahead of national security.
"There's oversight on this important program," he said. "And now when
it came time to renew the act, for partisan reasons in my mind, people
have not stepped up and have agreed that it is still necessary to protect
the country. The enemy has not gone away. They are still there. And I
expect Congress to understand that we are still at war, and they have got
to give us the tools necessary to win this war."
This will be the president's first legislative challenge of the new
year and comes at a time of new questions about expanding executive power
following the president's admission that he authorized the surveillance of
telephone calls without a court warrant.
President Bush says those intercepts are
strictly limited to communications where one of the parties is outside the
United States, and then only to people with known links to terrorist
groups.
He says media reports that uncovered the operation have helped
America's enemies by revealing U.S. intelligence techniques. The Justice
Department is investigating how reporters learned of the program.
Congress will investigate the intercepts themselves and whether the
president exceeded his power by authorizing them without a court
order. | 
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