re: #7 freetoken

Why do I expect these sort of things to be amended with poison pill amendments, until they’re not worth passing?

Because the GOP would not be caught dead putting their votes to a bill that might come back to haunt them should they win the White House in ‘16. The Patriot Act has been their baby, an example of how “committed” they are to fighting terrorism. They rammed through repeated extensions and have pushed against any suggestion that it be repealed.