The House on Wed. passed the Patriot Act conference report, which...
The House on Wed. passed the Patriot Act conference report, which accompanies the reauthorization bill (HR- 3199), by a roll call vote of 251-174. The ACLU said it was disappointed with “the failure of the House to protect the…
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liberty and freedom of innocent Americans” by adopting a bill the group called flawed. The conference report fails to put needed protections against abuse into the law, the civil liberties group said, noting that House leaders ignored growing calls to reform the law to focus on suspected foreign terrorists while protecting Americans’ privacy and civil liberties. Documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) through a Freedom of Information Act litigation raise questions about the govt.’s use of Patriot Act powers, particularly the Sec. 215 provision (WID Dec 14 p3), Exec. Dir. Marc Rotenberg told us. He urged the Senate not to reauthorize the sunsetting provisions until the FBI has provided all documents EPIC seeks and Congress can review them. In floor remarks Wed., House Minority Leader Pelosi (D-Cal.) said she couldn’t support the extension because the conference report “does not secure the right balance between security and liberty.” She said the country’s founders recognized the importance of that balance and “led a revolution to secure liberty against an arbitrary power.” The secrecy allowed in using Patriot Act powers -- such as the national security letters (NSLs) that allow the FBI to demand private records from ISPs, banks, credit card firms and other businesses -- worried her most, she said: The request doesn’t have to explicitly connect someone to terrorism and the subject of the NSL doesn’t know a letter has been issued. “You can’t know; you will never know,” she said: “Any information including your most sensitive personal data, along with that of thousands of American citizens gathered by these national security letter requests will be held in perpetuity by law enforcement.” A motion to recommit, which would have let lawmakers work on the bill, failed 202-224. A Senate vote is expected this week. Attorney Gen. Alberto Gonzales applauded the effort as “an essential part of our nation’s efforts in the war against terrorism.” He urged the Senate to “act now.”