WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act faces a promised filibuster unless some of its controversial segments are reconsidered, U.S. Senate Democrats said.
Just a day after a House-Senate conference committee said it had reached a compromise on the legislation, and a vote was expected by the end of the week, a bipartisan group of senators expressed "deep concern" that changes in the law did not protect civil liberties, The New York Times reported Friday.
The ploy could throw a wrench into Congress's holiday plans, since many members expected to head home Friday for Thanksgiving.
Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., told the Times he has "cleared my schedule right up to Thanksgiving" as part of his threat to filibuster.
The Patriot Act was passed in the day following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and contained provisions civil libertarians said infringe on individual rights. While all 16 parts of the act were to be extended, not all would be made permanent and opponents want those segments to face congressional scrutiny in four years, rather than seven as currently written.
Controversial parts of the measure involve authorities' ability to search library and business records and so-called roving wire taps.
