Patriot Act deal runs into Senate challenge

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of six senators slammed the brakes Thursday on efforts to extend the life of the USA Patriot Act, saying a compromise version being debated in a conference committee does not do enough "to protect innocent people from unnecessary and intrusive government surveillance."

In a letter to the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees, three Republicans joined three Democrats in describing the bill as "unacceptable." They added that "if further changes are not made, we will work to stop this bill from becoming law."

They issued their challenge after conference negotiators had hammered out a compromise to make permanent most provisions of the Patriot Act, enacted shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to give the Justice Department broad new tools to fight terrorism. The statute is set to expire Dec. 31, and lawmakers are scrambling to reauthorize it before leaving for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The balking senators are Republicans Larry Craig of Idaho, John Sununu of New Hampshire and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Democrats Dick Durbin of Illinois, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Ken Salazar of Colorado.

Actress touts

new law on orphans

Actress Angelina Jolie used her star power Thursday to draw attention to a new law intended to help the world's orphans.

The law, the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act, was signed last week by President Bush. It directs the government to evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. assistance aimed at the more than 143 million orphans in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean. But the law still needs to be backed by $340 million in funding, said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif.

"By fully funding this legislation, we would be saying to the world that we believe that the life of a child in the poorest country is just as important, just as valuable, as the lives of the children in the United States," Jolie said.

Jolie, who won a supporting-actress Oscar for 1999's "Girl, Interrupted," has adopted two foreign orphans.

denial over donations

The head of an environmental group that Interior Secretary Gale Norton helped found denied Thursday trading access to the Bush administration for contributions from lobbyist Jack Abramoff's tribal clients.

Senators investigating the donations said they did not believe Italia Federici, president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy.

Federici defended the nearly $500,000 in contributions that her group received from Indian tribes, saying the council did "substantive and important" work for them.

But the leaders of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee said e-mail between Federici and Abramoff shows she was helping him by using her access to Steven Griles, the Interior Department's ex-deputy secretary, in exchange for contributions.

Federici's argumentative responses angered Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. At one point, he threatened to hold her in contempt of Congress.

McCain has held several hearings to determine whether Abramoff and a partner defrauded six Indian tribes of some $80 million between 2001 and 2004.

Compiled from The Associated Press, Reuters and the Los Angeles Times