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THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - April 15, 2010
Senator Leahy Pushes for More Patriot Act Oversight
by: Grace Huang
truthout|Report
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy
(D-Vermont) released a letter Tuesday he sent previously
to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging him to implement
accountability provisions in the Patriot Act that Congress
quietly renewed for one year in February.
The letter, sent March 17, discusses the bill introduced
by Senator Leahy in fall 2009 to renew parts of the Patriot
Act, which had been set to expire at the end of 2009, but
were temporarily extended through February 28, 2010, while
also adding measures that would enhance accountability and
oversight.
The legislation would have reauthorized three provisions
of the Patriot Act that would have allowed the government
to set up "roving wiretaps" to monitor multiple lines
of communication without identifying the target; seize
financial, travel or other business records without the
suspect's knowledge; and monitor a target without a
discovered affiliation with a terrorist group or other
threat. The latter "lone wolf" measure only applies to
non-US citizens, but has never been used by the government.
The reauthorization would also have come with more privacy
protections added, such as new reporting requirements when
certain measures are used and a mandate that Congress be
informed when the lone wolf provision is used. It also
particularly sought to increase accountability regarding
the use of national security letters by the FBI to obtain
individuals' records without a court order. In January, a
Justice Department report said that the FBI used various
informal methods to improperly obtain records - what the
FBI called "sneak peeks." It sought documents related to
at least 3,500 phone numbers.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said while appearing on Capitol
Hill in January that the FBI improved its internal controls
after growing aware of the problem.
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"We now know that the National Security Letter authority
was significantly misused," Senator Leahy wrote. "That
is why I fought hard to retain a sunset for National
Security Letters in our legislation, in addition to an
audit. It is important that there be increased account-
ability for this authority."
The Senate Judiciary Committee, the Obama administration
and Holder all endorsed and supported the Senate's bill.
However, the Democrats lacked the 60-vote supermajority
needed to pass it and avoid an expected filibuster, and
it never made it to the floor.
The Senate then opted to vote for parts of the Act's
extension instead. An extension that did not include the
Senate bill's accountability provisions was tucked in
an amendment to a Medicare reform act. It passed in the
Senate with an up-or-down voice vote late in the evening
of February 24. The House then passed the reauthorization
315-97 the next day, extending the due-to-expire Patriot
Act by one year; President Obama signed it the Saturday
after.
Terrorist attacks around that time also influenced the
vote, and individuals such as Sen. Jeff Sessions
(R-Alabama), the ranking Republican of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, believed that such changes would
weaken the act.
"Recent terror attacks, such as those at Fort Hood and on
Christmas Day, demonstrate just how severe of a threat we
are facing," Senator Sessions said. "This extension keeps
Patriot's security measures in place and demonstrates
that there is a growing recognition that these crucial
provisions must be preserved."
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In a speech made while campaigning in August 2007,
President Obama committed himself to upholding civil
liberties during his presidency.
"I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement
agencies with the tools they need to track and take out
the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and
our freedom," he said. "That means no more illegal wire-
tapping of American citizens. No more national security
letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a
crime.... That is not who we are. And it is not what is
necessary to defeat the terrorists."
"I wish [the Patriot Act] did factor into his priorities
at all, but it doesn't seem to," said Shahid Buttar,
the executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense
Committee. "What was a priority was not fixing it, but
just ramming it through again."
Senator Leahy emphasized, "even without Congressional
action," the administration can and should still take
steps to ensure accountability and privacy measures.
"The one-year extension should not become an excuse to
defer implementation of the important civil liberties
and enhanced accountability provisions... that received
the support of the Administration. We should work together
to ensure that these important accountability provisions
are realized without delay," he wrote.
"Senator Leahy and others on the Senate and House
Judiciary Committees went down swinging for the
constitution," said Buttar. "It's great to see them
revisiting the issue."
However, he added, "Whether they're successful on the
hill will depend on how loud we in the grassroots are....
The populist grassroots of both parties want to see the
constitution restored."
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