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Senate Committee Approves Patriot Act RevisionsBy an 11–4 vote June 7, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved legislation that would reauthorize and expand the USA Patriot Act, including increasing the FBI’s powers to subpoena records in terrorism investigations, the Associated Press reported June 8. The closed-door meeting followed a similar May 26 session at which committee members had been unable to agree on a proposal.While the text of the bill has not yet been made public, press releases from committee members described some of the proposed changes. Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kans.) noted that the bill “would place important checks and balances on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ’business record’ provision modified by Section 215” of the Patriot Act, including inserting a specific relevance requirement, expanding the categories of individuals to whom recipients can disclose the existence of an order, and outlining procedures to challenge such orders in court. Committee Vice Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said he backed the bill but would push for amendments during Senate consideration to limit the broad scope of the administrative subpoena authority “so that it is used when time is of the essence, not as standard practice.” The American Civil Liberties Union criticized the bill and the fact that the committee’s action took place in a closed session. “When lawmakers seek to rewrite our Fourth Amendment rights, they should at least have the gumption to do so in public,” said Lisa Graves, the ACLU’s senior counsel for legislative strategy. Posted June 10, 2005. |
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