The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday a one-month extension of key provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire on Dec. 31.

The House has sent the measure for final action at the Senate, which approved a six-month extension Wednesday night.

The House took the action without debate, after Representative James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, refused to agree to the Senate's six-month extension.

The House of Representatives voted last week on a House-Senate compromise measure to make 14 of the act's 16 provisions set to expire on Dec. 31 permanent and extend the remaining two for four years. The process to renew the provisions was stalled later at the Senate by a group of bipartisan opponents who expressed concerns about safeguards of civil liberties.

The Senate was expected to act on the one-month bill Thursday evening.

Source: Xinhua