We all probably know that section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act will sunset at the end of this year. What you may not know is that people have been working hard in the Senate to make sure that it doesn’t. The ACLU is reporting that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence approved legislation which will expand and reauthorize sunsetting parts of the USAPA. Declan McCullagh has a few more details. The bill [pdf] should be heading to the Senate floor. Now might be a good time to contact your elected representative.
Category: usapa
Libraries under USAPA, a cautionary tale
“On June 8, 2004, an FBI agent stopped at the Deming branch of the Whatcom County Library System in northwest Washington and requested a list of the people who had borrowed a biography of Osama bin Laden. We said no.” A USA Today editorial, by a librarian. [lj]
USAPA news
ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano met with the new US Attorney General today to talk about — what else? — the USA PATRIOT Act.
The American Library Association believes that government powers should be focused and subject to clear standards and judicial review and oversight. Brey-Casiano said, “portions of the USA PATRIOT Act abridge people’s First Amendment right to read and think freely. In this country, we are entitled to read and research a topic or opinion without the fear that the government is looking over our shoulder.â€
A little over a month ago, the Montana State Legislature passed a bill with strong bipartisan support critical of the USA PATRIOT Act and encouraging Congress to let parts of it sunset,
That the 59th Montana Legislature supports the government of the United States in its campaign against terrorism and affirms the commitment of the United States that the campaign not be waged at the expense of essential civil rights and liberties of citizens of this country that are protected in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that it is the policy of the citizens of Montana to oppose any portion of the USA PATRIOT Act that violates the rights and liberties guaranteed under the Montana Constitution or the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights.
summaries of USAPA hearings
beSpacific links to four articles written about yesterday’s hearings and notes their conflicintg headlines and conclusions.
USAPA Hearings, Day One
I was scanning some of the testimony from today’s hearings about renewing the USAPA. If you just want the updates, please read Declan over at News.com. If you’d like to really see what people had to say about it, perhaps your representative, you can read the testimony here. I’ll quote a bit from what my Senator had to say.
For example, many of us have expressed concerns with the business records subpoena power in section 215, and its implications for libraries and booksellers. I have cosponsored legislation, introduced by Senator Feingold, that addresses this provision.
Before we rush to renew any controversial powers created by the PATRIOT Act, we need to understand how these powers have been used, and whether they have been effective. A few weeks ago, we celebrated the first National Sunshine Week with a hearing on open government and bipartisan calls for responsiveness and accountability. We should carry that theme into this process of oversight and legislating.
And you can also read Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez repeating nearly word for word what Ashcroft had to say about Section 215.
Even though libraries and bookstores are not specifically mentioned in the provision, section 215 does prohibit the government from using this authority to conduct investigations “of a United States person solely on the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.†In other words, the library habits of ordinary Americans are of no interest to those conducting terrorism investigations, nor are they permitted to be.