Friday, July 22, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

House Patriot Act bill passes

Extension includes library, medical records searches

WASHINGTON -- The House voted Thursday to extend the USA Patriot Act, the nation's main anti-terrorism tool, just hours after televisions in the Capitol beamed images of a new attack in London.

As similar legislation worked its way through the Senate, House Republicans cast the law as a valuable asset in the war on terror. Most Democrats echoed that support but said they were concerned the law could allow civil liberties to be infringed.

After more than nine hours of debate, the House approved the measure 257-171. Forty-three Democrats joined 214 Republicans in voting to renew key provisions of the Patriot Act that were set to expire at year's end.

The bulk of the back-and-forth centered on language making permanent 14 of 16 provisions that had four-year sunset provisions under the original law, which Congress passed overwhelmingly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The bill includes 10-year extensions to the two other provisions set to expire Dec. 31, one allowing roving wiretaps and another allowing searches of library and medical records.

"While the Patriot Act and other anti-terrorism initiatives have helped avert additional attacks on our soil, the threat has not receded," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee, said while "I support the majority of the 166 provisions of the Patriot Act," the extensions could lessen accountability. "Ten years is not a sunset; 10 years is semi-permanent," he said.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., voted against the Patriot Act extension, while Reps. Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter, both R-Nev., supported renewing the law.

Berkley said she rejected the bill because several provisions on roving wiretaps and library records compromise civil liberties.

She said the elimination of expiration dates on 14 temporary provisions are "inappropriate and not compatible with the constitutional guarantees that this nation affords its citizens."

"Emergency situations are just that. They are temporary," said Berkley, who voted for the Patriot Act when it was passed in 2001.

Gibbons said the Patriot Act is not an unprecedented clamp on privacy or freedom.

"Many of the law enforcement tools outlined in the Patriot Act are already available to prosecutors of criminal cases and have been used for decades to fight organized crime and drug dealers," Gibbons said. "Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies need the appropriate tools to prevent (terrorism) here at home."

Porter said: "Southern Nevada is visited by over 35 million people each year, many of whom are friends from foreign countries. Unfortunately, we have learned that mixed in with those visitors are some who wish to inflict harm on our nation.

"The Patriot Act reauthorization helps to ensure our safety and protect our civil liberties by finding the proper balance between security and privacy."

As the House debated the legislation, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved its own extension of the bill, though it included only four-year extensions for the roving wiretap and records search provisions.

A competing bill has been approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which would give the FBI expanded powers to subpoena records without the approval of a judge or grand jury. That ensured further Senate talks on the terrorism-fighting measure.

The House legislation will have to be reconciled with whatever emerges from the Senate.

President Bush hailed the House vote.

"The Patriot Act is a key part of our efforts to combat terrorism and protect the American people, and the Congress needs to send me a bill soon that renews the act without weakening our ability to fight terror," Bush said in a statement released by the White House.

The roving wiretap provision, Section 206, allows investigators to obtain warrants to intercept a suspect's phone conversations or Internet traffic without limiting it to a specific phone or identifying the suspect. The records provision, Section 215, authorizes federal officials to obtain "tangible items" such as business, library and medical records.

Advocates argued that such powers already exist in criminal investigations so they should be continued for terrorism investigations. They also cited safeguards, such as a requirement that a judge approve the records search.

One amendment requires the FBI director to approve any request for library or bookstore records.

Another amendment sets a 20-year jail term for an attack against a rail or mass-transit vehicle; a 30-year sentence if the vehicle carries nuclear material; and life imprisonment, with the possibility of the death penalty, if anyone is killed.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., a former FBI agent, recalled using such tools in gang and child molestation investigations.

"All we do in the Patriot Act is say, `Look, if we can go after child molesters sitting in the library and bombers who we need to sneak-and-peek on a warrant, we ought to be able to go after terrorists,' " he said.

Critics said the sunset provisions were wisely inserted amid the inflamed passions following the 2001 attacks and should be retained to assess the law's long-term impact.

"Periodically revisiting the Patriot Act is a good thing," said Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass. "The Patriot Act was an effort to answer the most difficult question a democracy faces: How much freedom are we willing to give up to feel safe?"

Democrats were incensed after Republicans blocked consideration of an amendment block the library searches. The House approved identical language last month in a test vote.

"If you don't like it, come up and speak against it," said Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who sponsored the amendment. "But it has passed once, and it would likely pass again."

Stephens Washington Bureau writer Kate Barrett contributed to this report.