After hours of debate, the US House of Representatives on late Thursday voted to make most clauses of the Patriot Act permanent.

The House agreed to extend the act indefinitely by 257 to 171, but set a 10-year limit for the most controversial clauses: allowing federal agents to use roving wiretaps on terror suspects and to search records from libraries, businesses, hospitals and other organizations.

US President George W. Bush, who has been repeatedly calling for indefinite extension of the act, cheered the House vote.

The act, he said in a statement, is a key part of the government's efforts to combat terrorism and protect the American people.

Bush urged the overall Congress to approve the extension soon.

Otherwise, he warned, the country's capability to fight terrorism could be "weakened".

Hours before the House vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved its own general extension of the law, but called on the Congress to reexamine the wiretap and library provisions after another four-year period.

The whole Senate is expected to vote on whether to renew the act this fall.

After that, the vote results of the two parliamentary chambers will be coordinated in a conference committee.

The Patriot Act was made in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attack. Over a dozen of clauses of the act are due to expire by the end of this year. It is for the Congress to decide whether to extend them or not.

Critics blamed the act of giving the government unprecedented power which could infringe on civil liberty rights.

Source: Xinhua