Agreement reached on Patriot Act

A band of Senate Republican holdouts reached agreement Thursday with the White House on changes in the Patriot Act designed to clear the way for passage of anti-terror legislation stalled in a dispute over civil liberties.

Sen. John Sununu, R-New Hampshire, said the changes, quickly endorsed by at least one leading Democrat, would better “protect civil liberties even as we give law enforcement important tools to conduct terrorism investigation.”

The White House embraced the deal even before Sununu and several other senators outlined it.

Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said the agreement would “continue to build upon the civil liberties protections that are in place but do so in a way that doesn’t compromise our national security priorities.”

“We’re pleased that this important legislation is moving forward,” he said.