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The Fight to Reform the
Patriot
Act Is Not Over
Both houses of Congress have passed
bills to renew the expiring parts of the Patriot
Act. The Senate bill, while flawed in places, is
significantly better than both the House bill and current law.
As leaders meet to reconcile
the two bills, newly disclosed documents show the FBI has used
the National
Security Letter provision to demand personal information
from an organization with library records. Our client would
like to enter the discussion on the Patriot Act but cannot
because of an FBI gag order.
The Senate now requires
statements on the relevancy of personal records in
intelligence investigations and has approved other important
steps toward reform like:
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A MEANINGFUL RIGHT TO CHALLENGE ORDERS FOR
PERSONAL RECORDS |
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MORE JUDICIAL OVERSIGHT AND CHECKS ON
ABUSE IN PERSONAL RECORD
SEARCHES |
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SHORTER DELAYS FOR NOTIFICATION OF SECRET
"SNEAK AND PEEK" SEARCHES
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A SHORTER EXPIRATION FOR THE MOST
CONTROVERSIAL “SUNSETING” PROVISIONS, PRIMARILY SECTION
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More than 400 local communities and
seven states have passed resolutions for Patriot Act
reform. Americans remain unyielding in the bipartisan
call for greater checks on abuse in the law.
Congress
passed the Patriot Act 45 days after the 9/11 attacks with
virtually no debate. This time, Congress has time to bring the
law in line with the Constitution. | 
