Litigation

Congress Punts on Patriot Act Renewal

By Peter Hardin

Three key USA Patriot Act provisions appear headed for a two-month extension, after House of Representatives leaders resisted a Senate plan to insert reauthorization of the expiring  provisions into a must-pass Pentagon spending bill.

House Leader Nancy Pelosi argued that to accept inclusion of the provisions would lead to a “revolt on the left,” according to an article in Politico.

Both the House and Senate Judiciary committees have passed versions to reauthorize the key provisions, but lawmakers have not reached agreement on reconciling differences between the two versions. The House version offers greater safeguards for citizens.

In a key difference, the bill passed by the House committee  would not renew the government?s authority to spy on a ?lone wolf,? a non-U.S. citizen suspected of terrorism who may not belong to a known terrorist group; a bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, in contrast, would renew that authority.

The two-month extension will be written into a Pentagon spending bill that must be passed this month, according to Main Justice.

The USA Patriot Act is an acronym for ?Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.? To learn more about debate over renewal of key provisions,  click here for earlier Gavel Grab posts or see Justice at Stake’s page on National Security and  Civil Liberties.  A  2006 JAS publication entitled ?Courting Danger,? analyzed how the law ?dramatically weakened the historic power of the courts to protect our rights and check government abuses.?

Full post as published by The Gavel on December 17, 2009 (boomark / email).