Washington ? The Senate on Wednesday cleared the path for renewing the USA Patriot Act, swatting aside objections while adding new protections for people targeted by government investigations.

The overwhelming votes virtually assured that Congress will renew President Bush’s antiterror law before it expires March 10. The Senate is expected to pass the two-bill package, renewing the law with the added protections, today. The House was expected to pass the legislation next Tuesday.

The law’s opponents, who insisted the new protections were cosmetic, conceded defeat.

“The die has now been cast,” acknowledged the law’s chief opponent, Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., after the Senate voted 84-15 to end his filibuster.

The overwhelming support for the renewal package holds great political value for Bush, who in 2001 made the act the centerpiece of what has become a troubled war on terrorism. Underscoring its import are GOP plans already in the works to make sure nobody misses the point this midterm election year.

After the House gives its blessing, Republicans are hoping to win a second day of coverage Wednesday with a press conference by Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

The House then will send the legislation to Bush, who will sign it before the deadline March 10.