American Libraries |
||
Site NavigationLeft Sidebar ItemsOnline Features
Follow American Libraries news stories, videos, and blog posts on Twitter.
|
||
Congress Advances Patriot Act Reauthorization BillsOn the heels of congressional action in June that included House passage of legislation to scale back Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act and a Senate committee proposal to expand the act, Congress took some preliminary steps July 13 toward reauthorization. Key committees and legislators have come up with a smorgasbord of proposals on some of the most controversial provisions set to expire at the end of the year.Two House committees debated legislation (H.R. 3199) proposed by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) that would require the FBI to demonstrate that information it seeks under Section 215 orders is “reasonably expected” to be related to foreign intelligence information and would also give recipients of such orders the right to consult a lawyer, the San Francisco Chronicle reported July 14. The House Judiciary Committee approved a version of the bill that would make permanent 14 of the 16 expiring provisions and place 10-year sunsets on Sections 215 and 206, while the Intelligence Committee approved a modified version but rejected several amendments proposed by Democrats, including a restriction on the use of Section 215 orders to obtain library and bookstore records. The Campaign for Reader Privacy—a joint initiative of the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, and the PEN American Center that launched a campaign in 2004 to scale back Section 215—expressed disappointment over the Judiciary Committee’s version of the bill, pointing out in a statement that although it “would allow libraries and other recipients of Section 215 orders to challenge their legality, it does not guarantee the opportunity to appear before a judge.” In the Senate, Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation (S. 1389) that would also make 14 provisions permanent but would sunset Sections 215 and 206 in 2009. Other proposed modifications include requiring authorization from the FBI director for any orders seeking records of library use, book or firearms purchases, or medical records. The Specter-Feinstein proposal “provides more protections and important clarifications than the other bills that are being considered,” acknowledged Lisa Graves, senior counsel for legislative strategy at the American Civil Liberties Union, in the July 14 Washington Post. “But all the bills fall short of what is necessary to bring the Patriot Act back in line with the Constitution.” Posted July 15, 2005. |
Right Sidebar
|
|
