GOP struggles for PATRIOT Act votes


The six-year extension was offered by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.). | AP Photo

By JOHN BRESNAHAN & JAKE SHERMAN | 5/12/11 4:38 AM EDT
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House Republican leaders are aggressively lobbying rank-and-file GOP lawmakers to pass a long-term extension of the Patriot Act, a Bush-era anti-terrorism law that has already provided Republicans with an embarrassing defeat early in their majority.

A high-profile test looms Thursday when the House Judiciary Committee takes up the legislation and the internal debate among Republicans reveals that the 90-day extension passed in February hasn’t mollified all concerns among some conservatives about the domestic surveillance law.

Republican leaders have had to play up the death of Osama bin Laden — and fears of retaliation by Al Qaeda following the May 1 U.S. raid that killed him — as reasons for extending the controversial legislation, arguing that American counterterrorism experts need the authority granted them under the Patriot Act in order to thwart any plots against the U.S.

FBI Director Robert Mueller will give a classified briefing to the House Republican Conference on Friday, outlining the agency’s support for the proposed extension of several contentious provisions of the law. Mueller and U.S. intelligence officials have already met privately with members of the Judiciary panel to discuss the measure, according to several lawmakers.

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) offered a stern warning to his fellow lawmakers in a closed conference meeting Wednesday at the Capitol Hill Club: Don’t you dare vote no unless you attend Mueller’s briefing and ask your questions.

The six-year extension was offered by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a senior member of the Judiciary panel, with backing from Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairmen of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees, respectively.

The three provisions up for reauthorization May 28 have proved controversial in the past. One covers “roving wiretapsâ€