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Lawmakers Debate Patriot Act Extension NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON -- Just hours after explosions created fresh terrorist concerns in London, the House began debate Thursday on an extension of the USA Patriot Act, the premier American anti-terrorism tool. The bill called for making permanent 14 of 16 provisions of the original law, passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and scheduled to expire at the end of this year. It also gave a 10-year extension to two provisions - one allowing roving wiretaps and another allowing searches of library and medical records - that triggered passionate arguments between Democrats and Republicans. Story Continues Below "This is the single most important vote that Congress will cast to keep America safe during 2005," Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said during a news conference to preview the debate. The Senate Judiciary Committee also scheduled votes Thursday on revisions to the law. While civil libertarians have expressed concern about the original law, passed by Congress just 45 days after the Sept. 11 attacks, congressional and Justice Department advocates argue it has accelerated the pursuit and prosecution of suspected terrorists by breaking down barriers between law enforcement and intelligence agencies. "We've not had a major terrorist attack in this country, in part because of efforts that were made to collect evidence under the Patriot Act," Sensenbrenner said. "And no part of the expanded law enforcement provisions contained in the Patriot Act have been held unconstitutional by a federal court." The Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, told C-Span, "I know of nobody who wants to kill the Patriot Act," but he said critics want to avoid excessive secrecy, curb racial profiling and ensure all of its elements are constitutional. In particular, he said he opposed extending the existing four-year sunset clauses to 10 years for the two provisions in question, declaring, "Ten years is, in effect, no sunset at all." He took particular aim at Section 215, which allows searches of library and medical records if approved by a judge, saying, "I do not think we can go into this without allowing people to know that is being done." The House undertook the debate as television screens around the Capitol showed images of London, where authorities were investigating small explosions at three Underground stations and a double-decker bus. The reports came two weeks to the day after larger London blasts that killed 56, including four suicide bombers. President Bush has lobbied to make the entire Patriot Act permanent. On Wednesday, against a backdrop of shipping containers at the Port of Baltimore, he said: "As we saw in London, the terrorists are still active and they are still plotting to take innocent life. So my message to the Congress is clear: This is no time to let our guard down, and no time to roll back good laws. The Patriot Act is expected to expire, but the terrorist threats will not expire." He was supported by Deputy Attorney General James Comey, the No. 2 official at the Justice Department, who rebutted critics of the law when he was asked at the news conference how he would feel if his library records were searched. "Your question must be, `How would I feel if an FBI agent went to a federal judge, made an application and got a court order for it, saying it was relevant to a foreign intelligence investigation or a foreign counterterrorism investigation,"' Comey said. "If that had been done and Congress been told every six months that that had been done, then I wouldn't feel thrilled that I was part of a foreign intelligence or foreign counterterrorism investigation, but I would know that the law had been complied with. Nobody rifles through anybody's records."
© 2005 The Associated Press
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