Republicans in US House of Representatives quash Patriot Act provisions

By Li Ying

The Republican-led US House of Representatives Wednesday declined a nine-month extension of three core provisions in the Patriot Act that are set to expire February 28, AFP reported.

These three anti-terrorism provisions, allow authorities to use roving wiretaps to track an individual on several telephones; to track a non-US national suspected of being a "lone-wolf" terrorist not tied to an extremist group; and to seize personal or business records seen as critical to an investigation.

The Republicans sought a nine-month extension to give leaders time to prepare for an attempt later this year to make the law permanent, potentially inserting the national security debate into the unfolding presidential campaign season, the Los Angeles Times reported.

While the Democrats agree on extending the provisions through December 2013, they disagree on whether to adopt some restrictions to avoid power abuse and needless invasions of privacy.

Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that it is most likely that the Senate will extend the provisions until 2013, accompanied by certain safeguards for privacy.

"The US needs to find a balance between national security and personal liberty now," Li said.