Bill would shift next extension away from election year.
WASHINGTON - January 27, 2011 - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Ver.) introduced legislation to the Senate Wednesday that would extend expiring provisions of the controversial USA PATRIOT Act.
"Congress now faces a deadline to take action on the expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act," Senator Leahy said in a statement. "The USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011 will preserve law enforcement and intelligence techniques that are set to expire on February 28, 2011, and extend them to December 2013."
The legislation would extend the roving wiretap provisions, the "lone wolf" measure and the "library records" provision. The provisions allow authorities to conduct surveillance without identifying the person or location to be wiretapped, permits surveillance of "non-U.S." persons who are not affiliated with a terrorist group, and lets the government gain access to "any tangible thing" during investigations.
The bill also increases judicial oversight of government surveillance powers, such as requiring authorities to list the facts that justify obtaining a court order and raising the standards for gaining permission to conduct wiretaps.
"While this bill makes important changes to the USA PATRIOT Act to increase oversight of its powers, it unfortunately allows many dangerous provisions to continue," said Michelle Richardson, American Civil Liberties Union legislative counsel.
"Since its passage nearly a decade ago, the USA PATRIOT Act has been used improperly again and again by law enforcement to invade Amerikans’ privacy and violate their constitutional(ly protected) rights," Richardson added. "Rather than allow these provisions to be rubberstamped in February, Congress should seize this opportunity to make reforming the USA PATRIOT Act a priority."
