Reply #10: here

[Enrique]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/with-deal-to-renew-patriot-act-reformers-will-have-to-wait/239178/

(...)

What's odd about PATRIOT Act politics is that the Obama administration has agreed more with congressional Republicans than with its Democratic allies -- a rare occurrence, in general. At a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Department of Justice oversight on May 3, Attorney General Eric Holder voiced support for a permanent extension of the expiring provisions, the position held by Republicans. Holder said:

We believe, I believe, it is absolutely essential that these expiring provisions be reauthorized. We never want to see these acts, these provisions, expire. The fact that they have sunset, period, and requiring us to come back periodically to get them reauthorized, is not helpful to us ... We need certainty. Our prosecutors, our investigators, need certainty in that regard ... So my hope is that these provisions are reauthorized for as long as we possibly can. If they were extended permanently, that is not something we would be opposed to.