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barefoot shoesReporting from Washington— Congress approved a four-year extension of expiring provisions of the Patriot Act on Thursday, overcoming mounting opposition from both political parties to narrowly avoid a lapse in the terrorist surveillance law.President Obama, attending an

five finger shoesinternational summit in France, made plans to be awake at 5:45 a.m. local time Friday to review and approve the bill, directing that it be signed in Washington by automatic pen before the provisions expired at midnight EDT, with just minutes to spare.Related  In president's hometown, Mitt Romney criticizes Obama's economic policies  House Republicans' budget plan defeated in

five fingers shoesthe Senate  Fox News keeping Sarah Palin on board despite bus tour  Saving Sarah Palin? Movie to debut in Iowa next month spurs talk of White House bid  Conservatives' protest delays Patriot Act extension The administration had warned Congress that any interruption in the surveillance authority would threaten national security.Passage came late Thursday after a protracted political struggle that played out over several months, a sign of increased unease with powers granted to the federal government to investigate citizens and foreigners in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.Conservative Republicans, many of them elected with backing from the "tea party" movement, and liberal Democrats resisted attempts to extend the three expiring provisions of the act.Dramatizing the debate this week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) held up Senate floor proceedings to protest what he characterized as an unconstitutional overreach by the federal government into private affairs.Earlier this year, unexpected opposition from a block of House Republicans thwarted a short-term extension of the retiring provisions, temporarily derailing the bill in that chamber.Democrats similarly have opposed the post-Sept. 11 government authority, and this week's standoff risked an expiration of the provisions at midnight."We all want security — nobody wants what happened on 9/11 to happen again," Paul said. "But I think we don't need to simplify the debate to such an extent that we simply say we have to give up our liberties."Supporters said that extending the provisions would ensure no disruption in the government's ability to conduct surveillance that they say has proved crucial to the ability of intelligence agencies to amass information vital to keeping the country safe.