WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. politicians on both sides of the aisle are debating security measures in the wake of reports of domestic spying and the stalled Patriot Act.
Lawmakers blocking President George Bush's effort to renew the act say they want stronger privacy protections added to the domestic surveillance law.
Democrats say Bush's aggressive use of domestic spying must be curbed to protect civil liberties, The Washington Post reported.
"There is going to be no breakthrough" in the Senate impasse, said Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), adding that "the act as written is bad, and we need time to work it out."
The act's key provisions are set to expire in two weeks.
"In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment," Bush said in a speech Saturday at the White House.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said of Bush's speech: "Fear mongering and false choices do little to advance either the security or liberty of Americans."
Reid and Leahy want a three-month extension of the existing Patriot Act to give the House and Senate more time to negotiate changes that could be locked in for four years, the newspaper said.
