Feingold Outlines Reasons Why Congress Must Pass Senate Version
of the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization
With several sections of the USA PATRIOT Act due to expire at the end
of 2005, conferees from the Senate and the House are preparing to reconcile
competing bills reauthorizing that law. In late July of this year, working
in a bipartisan fashion, the Senate Judiciary Committee and later the
entire Senate unanimously passed the USA PATRIOT Act Improvement and
Reauthorization Act. U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, the lone Senator to
vote against the original PATRIOT Act in October 2001, supported the
consensus Senate bill. Feingold opposed the original PATRIOT Act because,
while it contained many provisions that he supported, several provisions
of the bill failed to adequately respect constitutional rights and protections.
“While it is not a perfect bill, I am pleased that the Senate
version of the PATRIOT Act reauthorization takes meaningful steps to
address the serious privacy and civil liberties problems in the original
PATRIOT Act,” Feingold said at the time. “Unfortunately,
the House reauthorization bill does not do nearly enough to fix the
original law. I encourage the Senate conferees to fight hard for the
Senate version of the bill and to ensure that the Executive Branch is
subject to appropriate safeguards to protect against abuses.”
Below, Feingold outlines four important reasons why the conferees must
adopt the Senate version of the reauthorization bill:
Reason 1 – The Senate version protects against
overly intrusive searches of library, bookstore, medical and other personal
records.
The Senate version of the bill requires that the government demonstrate
to a court that the library, bookstore, medical or other personal records
it seeks under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act are connected to a suspected
terrorist or spy, and it provides the right to challenge a Section 215
order in court.
“Despite repeated assurances from the Administration that Section
215 has not been used to obtain library records, we know from an American
Library Association study that federal, state and local investigators
have obtained library records nearly 200 times since 2001,” Feingold
said. “Meaningful judicial oversight of Section 215 is imperative
to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans.”
Reason 2 – The Senate version helps protect
the privacy of Americans subject to secret searches.
The Senate version of the bill requires the government in most circumstances
to notify targets of secret “sneak and peek” search warrants
within seven days of government agents searching their homes or offices.
The House version would allow the government to wait six months.
“The Bill of Rights guarantees every American the right to be
free from unreasonable searches and seizures,” Feingold said.
“Notification of a search is a crucial part of the constitutional
guarantee because it allows the reasonableness of and authority for
the search to be challenged. Nearly permanent secrecy should always
be the exception, not the rule.”
Reason 3 – The Senate version requires the Justice
Department to provide more information to Congress on its use of the
PATRIOT Act.
The Senate version of the bill requires that the Justice Department
report to Congress, including the Senate Judiciary Committee, on its
use of a variety of controversial PATRIOT Act surveillance powers, including
its reliance on Section 215 orders specifically to obtain library, bookstore,
firearm sales, medical or tax records, and the government’s use
of secret “roving” intelligence wiretaps.
“The Administration's continued attempts to dodge congressional
oversight are a disservice to our constitutional system of checks and
balance,” Feingold said. “The extraordinary surveillance
powers of the Patriot Act must always be subject to strict congressional
scrutiny so that the American people can be confident that the government
is not going too far.”
Reason 4 – The Senate version includes a four-year
sunset for some of the Act’s most controversial domestic surveillance
powers.
The Senate version of the bill mandates that Congress revisit in four
years the PATRIOT Act’s most controversial sections, including
Section 215, the so-called “library records” provision.
The House version would not sunset any provisions until 2015.
“While the Senate version of the PATRIOT Act’s reauthorization
isn’t perfect, it recognizes the continued potential danger of
some of the most controversial provisions,” Feingold said. “Congress
should impose another four-year sunset on those provisions to guarantee
an earlier opportunity to re-evaluate the government’s need for
and use of these powers.”
A wide-ranging group of organizations from all over the political spectrum
has supported some or all of the Senate version of the PATRIOT Act reauthorization
bill over the House version. Supporters include: U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Realtors,
American Civil Liberties Union, American Conservative Union, American
Library Association, Free Congress Foundation, Patriots to Restore Checks
and Balances, Center for Democracy and Technology, Association of Corporate
Counsel, and Gun Owners of America.
| 