<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Major amendments </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> USA Freedom Act </Td> </Tr> <P> The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress signed into law by US President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001 . With its ten - letter abbreviation (USA PATRIOT) expanded, the Act's full title is "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001". The abbreviation, as well as the full title, have been attributed to Chris Cylke, a former staffer on the House Judiciary Committee . </P> <P> In response to the September 11 attacks and the 2001 anthrax attacks, Congress swiftly passed legislation to strengthen national security . On October 23, 2001, Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner introduced H.R. 3162 incorporating provisions from a previously - sponsored House bill and a Senate bill also introduced earlier in the month . The next day, the Act passed the House by a vote of 357--66, with Democrats comprising the overwhelming portion of dissent . The three Republicans voting "no" were Robert Ney of Ohio, Butch Otter of Idaho, and Ron Paul of Texas . On October 25, the Act passed the Senate by a 98--1 vote, the only dissident being Russ Feingold of Wisconsin . </P>

When was the patriot act signed into law