Patriot Act Extended Through February

In a four minute session, Congress approved a brief extension to the Patriot Act through February 3rd, preventing its unconstitutional anti-terrorism provisions from running out at the end of this year. The PATRIOT Act, or "Providing Appropriate Tools
Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" (say that five times fast), previously faced a six-month extension that was blocked by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner's staunch refusal to agree to the terms:

"A six-month extension, in my opinion, would have simply allowed the Senate to duck the issue until the last week in June," the Wisconsin Republican told reporters. [from the Associated Press]

The length of the act is, to most, irrelevant - what matters is reforming its key provisions, many which brashly flaunt our civil liberties. Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy said the following:

"The amount of time is less important than the good-faith effort that will be needed in improving the Patriot Act to strike the right balance in respecting Americans liberty and privacy, while protecting their security,"

You can view a list of its key provisions here.