American President George W Bush has stressed the need to renew the USA Patriot Act, saying it had led to successes in the fight against terrorism.
Speaking at the Ohio Patrol Training Academy on Thursday, Bush said the Act had closed gaps in the country's law enforcement and intelligence capabilities.
"The Patriot Act closed dangerous gaps in America's law enforcement and intelligence capabilities, gaps the terrorists exploited when they attacked us on September the 11th," Bush said.
More than a dozen provisions of the Act, passed overwhelmingly in 2001 by lawmakers, are set to expire.
The provisions, among other things, provide authority for nationwide search warrants, enable the Federal Bureau of Investigation and intelligence agencies to share information, and give the FBI the power to obtain records in terrorism cases.
Giving reasons for the continuation of the Act, he said the it authorised better sharing of information between law-enforcement and intelligence, breaking the "bureaucratic wall" that existed between.
"In many terrorism cases, information-sharing has made the difference between success and failure," Bush said.
The president said there was a need to renew the critical provisions of the Patriot Act that allow investigators to use the same tools against terrorists that they already use against other criminals.
Bush said that provisions of the Act, which updated the law to meet high-tech threats also needed to be renewed.
"Before the Patriot Act, Internet providers who notified federal authorities about threatening e-mails ran the risk of getting sued. The Patriot Act modernised the law to protect Internet companies who voluntarily disclose information to save lives," he said.
"Finally, we need to renew the critical provisions of the Patriot Act that protect our civil liberties. The Patriot Act was written with clear safeguards to ensure the law is applied fairly," Bush said.