Senate Intelligence Committee 'Mark-Up' of Patriot Act Rescheduled; CRP Calls Booksellers to Action

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's closed session "mark up" of legislation that would re-authorize and further broaden the powers of the USA Patriot Act, including Section 215, scheduled for today, has been postponed until next Thursday, May 26.

On Wednesday, May 18, officials told the New York Times that the Bush administration and Senate Republican leaders are looking to "significantly expand the F.B.I.'s power to demand business records in terror investigations without obtaining approval from a judge."

The news marks a surprising turn of events as it comes only a few weeks after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales conceded during Senate and House Judiciary Committee meetings that Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act needed clarification and that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would be willing to amend the provision "to allow for specific challenges to Section 215 orders and would support changes in law that would allow someone to talk to an attorney in preparation of that order."

"The fact that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is planning to not only keep Section 215 in the USA Patriot Act but also to strengthen the FBI's subpoena power is disheartening, to say the least," said ABA COO Oren Teicher.

According to an American Library Association press release, the Senate Intelligence Committee's proposed legislation would:

• Make permanent Patriot Act powers without safeguards. The bill makes all expiring provisions permanent, with one exception (Section 223).
  
  
• Expand the use of "administrative subpoenas," eliminating prior court review of FBI library and other private records demands for intelligence gathering purposes. The bill, thus, creates a new power for the FBI to obtain library and other private records without even the review of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The new records power could be used to obtain all tangible things, including library records, business records, medical records, etc. The new power would make any modifications to Section 215 less meaningful since the government can simply use the new power instead.
  
  
• Not provide adequate safeguards to protect library and other private records. While the bill would (1) allow a recipient of a FISA records search order (Patriot Act Section 215) to consult with an attorney or other person necessary to comply with the request, and (2) make the standard for issuing an order explicitly made "relevant to" rather than "sought for," the bill offers no explicit right to challenge the records search order, or to challenge the gag order, even though multiple witnesses from the Department of Justice have stated that they would agree to such amendments.
  
  
• Apparently strike an existing First Amendment safeguard for records search powers. Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, where an application for records is made under FISA, there is an express proviso that "such investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution." This safeguard is inadequate, but DOJ has pointed to it on countless occasions in defense of the Patriot Act.

The sponsors of the Campaign for Reader Privacy -- the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers and PEN American Center -- believe that the Intelligence Committee should open its session to allow the public to hear discussion of legislation that vitally concerns the civil liberties of American citizens, including their First Amendment right to purchase and borrow books and other material without fear that the government is looking over their shoulder.

"We are urging supporters to call the members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence immediately and request that the May 26 session be open to the public," Teicher said. "Calls to committee members from people in their states are particularly important." (See list of committee members below.)

In addition, bookstores are strongly encouraged to participate in CRP's petition drive. ABA is asking that booksellers send in signed petitions whenever they have collected a few hundred signatures.

ABA is distributing new CRP materials -- including redesigned petitions and a new bookmark that asks, "Is Someone Reading Over Your Shoulder?" The petition forms and bookmarks, as a well as a letter to booksellers from ABA COO Oren Teicher, are available by calling ABA at (800) 637-0037, exts. 1292 or 1293, or via download from www.bookweb.org/read/7679.

The Campaign for Reader Privacy