Carper Calls on House to Accept Short-Term Patriot Act Extension

WASHINGTON (Dec. 22, 2005) – Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., today called on the House to accept a short-term extension of the Patriot Act passed late last night by the Senate. Rather than let the portions of the Patriot Act expire on Dec. 31, the Senate last night passed a six-month extension of the important law so that parties could work out the few remaining disagreements over the bill’s reauthorization. Sen. Carper was one of 44 Democrats and 8 Republicans who wrote to Senate Majority Leader Frist yesterday, asking him to pass a short-term extension of the Patriot Act rather than let it expire. The following is a statement from Sen. Carper, urging the House to follow suit: “The Senate did the right thing last night by passing a short-term extension of the law so we could work out just a handful of differences that still separate us in Congress. I urge the House to follow suit today. There’s simply no good reason to let the Patriot Act expire. Doing so would jeopardize our national security and hurt our ability to investigate possible terrorist attacks. I’m confident that Congress can come back early next year and craft a reasonable compromise that strikes the right balance between protecting civil liberties and fighting terrorism.”