U.S. President George W. Bush meets with administration officials and U.S. attorneys to discuss expiring provisions of the Patriot Act at the White House in Washington, January 3, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. President George W. Bush called on the Congress again on Tuesday to renew the anti-terrorism Patriot Act, which, if not extended, would expire on Feb. 3.

    "I expect Congress to understand that we're still at war, and they've got to give us the tools necessary to win this war," Bush said during a meeting with federal prosecutors at the White House.

    "The enemy has not gone away -- they're still there," he said.

    Key provisions of the law were to expire on Dec. 31, but were extended till Feb. 3 amid a debate over whether the law had sufficient safeguards of civil liberties, allowing time for lawmakers to continue the debate.

    The Patriot Act was passed overwhelmingly by the Congress in 2001, with support from both parties, but "when it came time to renew the act, for partisan reasons, in my mind, people have not stepped up and have agreed that it's still necessary to protect the country," Bush said.

    Bush said he would speak to the American people over the next 30 days about the Patriot Act and would work with members of Congress to extend the law.

    In his speech, Bush also said the federal government would help West Virginia "any way we can to bring those miners out of that mine, hopefully in good condition."

    Thirteen coal miners were trapped in an explosion at a mine in West Virginia Monday morning. Enditem