Bush signs bills involving the Patriot Act, agency funding, Iraq

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- President Bush, unhappy with Congress for not permanently extending the Patriot Act, signed a bill Friday that renews the anti-terrorism law for a few weeks and pushes lawmakers to take up the debate over its measures.
The president signed about a dozen other bills, including one funding government agencies and a defense measure that funnels extra money to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf Coast.
Bush is spending the week between Christmas and New Year's Day at his Texas ranch. He plans to return to Washington on Sunday after visiting wounded troops at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Bush is urging lawmakers to extend permanently parts of the Patriot Act set to expire.
"Suffice it to say, our law enforcement community needs this," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said. "He's not satisfied with a one-month extension. But we've got to get that in place and we've got to work with them to get it permanently re-extended."
The Patriot Act extension keeps anti-terrorism laws that were due to expire today in place until Feb. 3. The one-month extension means lawmakers must debate again in January the merits of government anti-terrorism powers that some critics fault for not protecting Americans' civil liberties.
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