Patriot Act about to be made permanent -- expiration date deleted [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Announcement of House Judiciary committee vote on Wednesday:
http://judiciary.house.gov/markup.aspx?ID=103

Text of Judiciary bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.3199:

Perhaps the most important part:
"SEC. 3. REPEAL OF USA PATRIOT ACT SUNSET PROVISION.
      Section 224 of the USA PATRIOT ACT is repealed."

And a vote in the House Intelligence committee also Wednesday:
http://intelligence.house.gov/EventsItem.aspx?id=196

-Declan

---

MEDIA ADVISORY





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, July 12, 2005



              Free Congress Foundation







MEDIA ADVISORY





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, July 12, 2005



FREE CONGRESS FOUNDATION: RETAIN THE SUNSETS





Washington: Stephen M. Lilienthal, Director of the Center for Privacy 
and Technology Policy at the Free Congress Foundation, expressed concern 
that the House Judiciary Committee bill extending the USA Patriot Act 
does not retain the existing sunset powers. The House Judiciary 
Committee’s legislation does not include the provision for 
administrative subpoenas, a power which could receive judicial review 
only after searches have been executed. That omission from the 
legislation is certainly welcomed.



“The concern is not that the Patriot Act powers will be used against the 
terrorists; it is that the powers will start to be used in other areas 
of law enforcement. Prudence dictates that a check be retained on the 
Patriot Act powers to ensure constant review of their application,” 
Lilienthal said.



“President Bush is absolutely right when he says the threat of terrorism 
will be with us for a very long time. So will the Patriot Act powers. 
Many conservatives understand full well how future policymakers can take 
laws intended for an important reason –combating terrorism – and try 
applying those powers to other areas. Not only should the existing 
sunsets be retained, they should be added to such far-reaching powers as 
the Section 213 delayed notification searches (“sneak and peek”) that 
short-circuit the Fourth Amendment because it extends well beyond 
fighting terrorism. A sunset should also be applied to the expanded 
definition of domestic terrorism because its application could endanger 
assertive -- but legitimate -- political activists whose only crime is 
being politically incorrect.”



A recent Washington Times story quoted an anonymous staffer of the House 
Judiciary Committee expressing dismay that the Department of Justice has 
not been forthcoming with material on how the Patriot Act powers are 
being used. If true, that failure to provide the committee charged with 
providing oversight of the Patriot Act’s execution indicates the need 
for the addition of  effective checks and balances to the legislation.



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