Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said he supports a compromise measure to revise the USA Patriot Act, boosting the chances for the anti-terrorism law to be renewed by Congress.

The compromise that the White House and key Senate Republicans announced yesterday clears the way for the measure's passage in that chamber and Hastert's approval appears to do likewise for the House, which Republicans also control.

``If the Senate passes it, we'll pass it,'' Hastert, an Illinois Republican, told reporters today at a House Republican retreat in Cambridge, Maryland. ``It's time that we did it on a long-term basis, and we're tired of just temporarily doing it day-by-day and week-by-week,'' he said.

The anti-terrorism law, passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, expired in December and its renewal has been stalled by concerns among Democrats and some Republicans over the law's effect on civil liberties. Congress has twice extended the law to give lawmakers time to work out an agreement.

Hastert said he talked to House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner about acting on the legislation which Senate Republicans developed with the Bush administration ``as soon as the Senate OKs it.'' Jeff Lungren, a Sensenbrenner spokesman, declined to comment.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he may bring up the Patriot Act renewal for a vote as early as next week.

Reid, Durban Approve

Democrats lost critical allies yesterday when Senate Republicans who had joined with them to block the updated legislation signed on to the compromise measure. The deal was endorsed by Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called the accord ``a step in the right direction.''

Under the compromise, companies will now be able to challenge a gag order against discussing an FBI demand for information a year after the request is made. In addition, those who received so-called National Security Letters from the FBI asking for information won't have to disclose the names of the lawyers they consult, as is required currently.

Finally, records of libraries performing their traditional duties will no longer be subject to search by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Senator Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, has said he would still try to block the measure with a filibuster, a parliamentary tactic that allows endless debate.

Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire, who helped negotiate the accord, said yesterday that he counted 58 votes to support the measure -- two short of the number needed to block a filibuster -- and was confident of picking up enough additional votes ``on both sides of the aisle'' to ``be able to pass the Senate.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington at jbliss@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 10, 2006 15:57 EST