House Passes PATRIOT Act Extension; Senate Schedules Markup (Updated 2/15/11)

On 2/14/11, the House of Representatives passed an extension of expiring provisions of the Patriot Act (H.R. 514) by a 275-144 vote. This vote comes a week after the GOP failed to muster enough votes to pass the measure on 2/8/11.

On 2/17/11, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to markup its own version of the bill, the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011 (S. 193) at 10:00 AM in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

*This post corrects information sent out in the February 8th edition of The Pulse*

On 02/8/11, in a surprise upset the House Republicans were unsuccessful in their bid to renew three provisions of the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the PATRIOT Act.

The bill (H.R. 514), which would have extended the expiring provisions until Dec. 8, was considered under suspension of the rules, an expedited procedure that requires a two-thirds majority for passage. The final vote, 277-148, fell seven votes short.

Twenty-six Republicans and 122 Democrats voted against the bill, while 67 Democrats joined 210 Republicans to back it. Find out how your member voted.

With the provisions set to expire at the end of February, Republican leaders could bring the bill back to the floor under a rule requiring only a simple majority, setting up a potential showdown with the Senate.