Bush Signs Patriot Act Renewal
Renewal Comes A Day Before Expiration; Ends Months Of Debate
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Play CBS Video Video Patriot Act Renewal CBS News RAW: After a long battle with Congress, President Bush signed a renewal of the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act, saying that the bill has "helped save American lives."
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Video Couple Blasts Patriot Act A Palestinian fighting deportation back to Jordan under the Patriot Act says there's a double standard, reports Kelly Cobiella. He's also married to a government security worker who's allowed to stay.
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President Bush, surrounded by members of Congress in the White House's East Room, takes part in a signing ceremony for the USA Patriot Reauthorization Act on March 9, 2006. (AP)
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The legislation renews the expiring provisions of the original Patriot Act, including one that lets federal officials obtain "tangible items," such as business records, from libraries and bookstores, in connection with foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations.
Other provisions clarify that foreign intelligence or counterintelligence officers should share information obtained as part of a criminal investigation with counterparts in domestic law enforcement agencies.
Yet another provision is designed to strengthen port security by imposing strict punishments on crew members who impede or mislead law enforcement officers trying to board their ships.
The law also takes aim at the methamphetamine trade by imposing new restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, which contain a key ingredient for the drug. Customers will be limited to buying 300 30-milligram pills in a month or 120 such pills in a day. The measure would make an exception for "single-use" sales — individually packaged pseudoephedrine products.
By Sept. 30, retailers will be required to sell such medicines from behind the counter and purchasers would have to show ID and sign log books.
"Meth is easy to make," the president said. "It is highly addictive. It is ruining too many lives across our country. The bill introduces commonsense safeguards that would make many of the ingredients used in manufacturing meth harder to obtain in bulk, and easier for law enforcement to track."
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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