The Senate voted 89-10 for an updated version of the bill, one which addressed civil liberties concerns expressed by various senators as the expiration date loomed for later this month,
US President George W. Bush hailed Senators for “….overcoming the partisan attempts to block its passage.”
"The terrorists have not lost the will or the ability to attack us. The Patriot Act is vital to the war on terror and defending our citizens against a ruthless enemy," he said.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also applauded the vote saying that it provided the US with a measured and effective tool against terrorism that balances the constitutional rights against the need to effectively investigate and halt potential terrorist attacks.
The bill is a compromise between House and Senate negotiators, that took weeks to hammer out.
Several lawmakers, including a handful of senators from Mr Bush's Republican Party, had earlier expressed reservations about expanded government search and surveillance powers in the legislation.
Those concerns, they said, had by and large, been addressed in the approved legislation.
However, the top Senate Democrat, Minority Leader Harry Reid, said he still had lingering concerns, including the government use of national security records, secret subpoenas allowing the government access to a wide array of private records, including consumer purchase, phone, and other documents.
The original Patriot Act passed just five weeks after the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Automatic "sunset" provisions meant the legislation, which had already been extended twice, would have expired without new congressional action.