[Infowarrior] - USA PATRIOT renewed

[Richard Forno]

February 26th, 2010

Epic Fail in Congress: USA PATRIOT Act Renewed Without Any New Civil  
Liberties Protections News Update by Kevin Bankston
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/02/epic-fail-congress-usa-patriot-act-renewed-without

Yesterday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives voted  
overwhelmingly to renew three expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT  
Act, after the Senate abandoned the PATRIOT reform effort and approved  
the extension by a voice vote on Wednesday night.

Disappointingly, the government's dangerously broad authority to  
conduct roving wiretaps of unspecified or "John Doe" targets, to  
secretly wiretap of persons without any connection to terrorists or  
spies under the so-called "lone wolf" provision, and to secretly  
access a wide range of private business records without warrants under  
PATRIOT Section 215 were all renewed without any new checks and  
balances to prevent abuse. Despite months of vigorous debate, when  
PATRIOT renewal bills providing for greater oversight and  
accountability were approved by the Judiciary Committees of both the  
House and the Senate, Democratic leaders' push for reform fizzled in  
the face of staunch Republican opposition buoyed by recent hot-button  
events such as the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day  
and the shooting at Fort Hood.

The renewed PATRIOT provisions were originally set to expire on  
December 31, 2009, but Congress ran out of time last year and  
temporarily extended them until February 28th, this coming Sunday. The  
new extension is expected to be signed by the President before then.

The one silver lining? Despite a push by Republican leaders for a four- 
year extension, the renewed provisions are now set to expire in one  
year. So, although this battle's been lost, the effort to roll back  
PATRIOT's worst excesses is far from over. Thank you to everyone who  
took action to support PATRIOT reform this past year; we hope that  
you'll continue the fight with us in the next year.