Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On the Reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act
October 25, 2005
I am pleased to join Senator Sununu and our colleagues today in calling
on the members of the USA PATRIOT Act conference committee to retain
the meaningful civil liberties protections contained in the Senate version
of the reauthorization bill. House conferees are expected to be appointed
this week, and then the conference committee will begin negotiations
over the two bills to reauthorize the Patriot Act. Whether the Senate
version can prevail in this conference committee will make a great difference
to the protection of civil liberties in this country.
In July, I joined my Senate colleagues in unanimously passing a consensus,
bipartisan bill that significantly improves the most controversial provisions
of the USA PATRIOT Act. It is not perfect, but it makes meaningful improvements
to the law. I supported that bill because of the improvements it made.
I am hopeful that the conference report will retain these important
changes. But I want to make clear that I will make every effort to fight
a final reauthorization bill that does not make significant improvements
to the Patriot Act like those in the Senate bill. The Senate-passed
bill was based on a broad consensus of members of both parties. It is
that bill, and not the House’s meager attempt to make a few minor
changes to the original Patriot Act while reauthorizing most of it wholesale,
that we should send to the President.
Let me talk specifically about some of the provisions of the Senate
bill that create new safeguards for the most controversial PATRIOT Act
powers. The bill addresses some of the same issues that I first raised
in the fall of 2001 as the reasons why I believed the PATRIOT Act was
flawed and threatened fundamental constitutional protections.
With respect to Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the so-called “library”
provision that can be used to obtain library, medical and other sensitive
business records, the Senate bill would require the government to convince
a judge that a person is connected to terrorism or espionage before
obtaining those records. The bill would also require the government
in most circumstances to notify the target of a “sneak and peek”
search warrant within seven days of the search, instead of the undefined
delay that is currently permitted by the Patriot Act. It would eliminate
“John Doe roving wiretaps,” impose new four-year sunsets
on three of the most troublesome provisions, and provide recipients
of intrusive business records orders and National Security Letters with
the explicit right to challenge them in court.
The Senate bill also includes important new reporting requirements.
We learned for the first time yesterday from newly declassified documents
that the FBI has in recent years made a number of mistakes in its surveillance
of U.S. citizens, and as a result there have been unauthorized secret
searches; financial records and emails obtained without authority; and
investigations conducted for longer than authorized. These new revelations
further demonstrate that it is imperative Congress get the information
it needs to conduct oversight of PATRIOT Act powers.
In the House, unfortunately, the outcome was quite different from the
Senate. House leadership refused to allow important amendments to come
to a vote on the House floor. The end result was a bill that does not
accomplish what so many of us believe is necessary – legislation
that reins in the parts of the Patriot Act that went too far, to protect
innocent people from government surveillance.
The House bill also includes a variety of provisions that have nothing
to do with the Patriot Act, such as dramatic and unnecessary expansions
of the federal death penalty. Congress must resist the temptation to
turn the must-pass Patriot Act reauthorization bill into legislation
full of controversial provisions that have only a tangential relationship,
at best, to the fight against terrorism. We need to stick to the central
issue of this reauthorization process, which is ensuring that American’s
civil liberties are defended while protecting national security.
The Senate’s bipartisan compromise takes a big step in the right
direction, and I urge Chairman Specter and the other conferees to hold
strong in their negotiations with the House. And I want to lay down
this marker. Adoption of a conference report that falls short of what
the Senate bill did will not be a smooth or quick process.
Read a Fact
Sheet on the Senate Patriot Act Reauthorization.
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