On March 4 a popular referendum on the amendments was scheduled for March 19.
No written version of the amendments was publicly available, so it was difficult to verify their contents or wording.
In December 2007 the package of amendments was narrowly defeated in a popular referendum by a margin of 51 to 49 percent Chávez's first defeat at the polls.
We also think the refusal by the FISA court to consider the legal significance of the Patriot Act's crucial amendments was error.
Nevertheless, passing the law, without amendments, was clearly a success for Mr. Kostunica's ministers, who applauded when it was voted through.
Vice President Dick Cheney was also on hand, briefly, in case his vote on the amendments was needed to break a tie; it was not.
His argument about how his pro-gun votes were dictated by House procedures banning amendments was consistent from one program to the next.
The most controversial of the amendments was offered by a group of conservative lawmakers who sought to pay for the aid package with across-the-board spending cuts to various programs in the 2013 federal budget.
Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, who had negotiated with Mr. Dodd after talks between Mr. Dodd and Mr. Shelby broke down, said after the meeting that the decision to shelve all the amendments was "kind of unorthodox".
And some believe that the 17th Amendment, commonly known as one of the "progressive" amendments, was wrong when it assigned the election of United States senators directly to the voters.
Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, said Mr. Reid's decision to ban amendments was typical of the dismissive treatment toward Republicans that has soured the atmosphere, though he acknowledged that Republicans were maneuvering, too.
