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Senate Dems abandon reforms, vote to extend Patriot Act (Raw Story, February 25th, 2010)

Unable to find the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster, Senate Democrats abandoned proposals to reform the Patriot Act and voted Wednesday night to extend key parts of the controversial security law to 2011.

If the House approves the legislation as well, the Patriot Act -- an omnibus security bill passed in the wake of 9/11 that civil libertarians argue amounts to a major roll-back of civil rights -- will see three of its most controversial elements extended by a year.