Top lawmakers in the House and Senate struck a deal to extend expiring provisions of the Patriot Act four years, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) agreed to extend until June 1, 2015, the “roving wiretaps” power and “business records” authority, which makes it easier for federal authorities to get tangible evidence — such as library records — as part of an investigation. They also agreed to a four-year extension of the expiring “lone wolf” power, initially authorized under a 2004 law, which allows probes of suspected terrorists not tied to a specific organization or nation.
The three authorities are set expire May 27.
The House and Senate currently have competing bills on the extensions that are waiting for floor votes. The deal between Boehner and Reid appears to be an attempt to find middle ground on the extension proposals in the House and Senate measures.
The House bill would extend the “roving wiretaps” and “business records” authorities until Dec. 31, 2017. The “lone wolf” power would get a permanent extension.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 22–13, mostly along party lines, to report the bill out last week.
The Senate bill would extend the three expiring provisions until Dec. 31, 2013. The legislation also would employ a sunset for national security letters, which are administrative subpoenas that the FBI uses to get evidence without a court order.
The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed the bill in March. But the Senate legislation didn’t garner much support from panel Republicans with only Sen. Mike Lee of Utah voting in favor of reporting the bill out of committee.
The three authorities are currently allowed under a 90-day extension that Congress approved in February.
The House tried to pass legislation in February that would have extended the powers until December. That bill was considered under House procedures that required a two-thirds majority to pass the bill. But House Democrats and conservative Republicans joined together and the bill was not passed.
