Patriot Act Becomes An Anti-Civil Liberties(congressman Conyers)

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Patriot Act Becomes An Anti-Civil Liberties Christmas Tree
Last week I wrote to you about the Patriot Act conference. Many of you asked for an update. Here it is and it is not good. Early today, Republican sources began preemptively leaking descriptions of the conference report to various media outlets. The spin has been that this conference report represents a step forward for civil liberties. Now that I have seen the conference report, I can tell you that it does not. Before I describe its contents, a word about procedure going forward. The House is likely to take up the bill as early as Thursday morning, and the Senate soon thereafter. There is not much time.

Throughout the conference, Democrats were excluded from negotiations about the bill, but the Bush Administration Justice Department was included. It is bizarre to say the least for a conference that is supposed to be between elected representatives to exclude those representatives and instead include a group with a vested interest in the bill -- the Justice Department. No similar access was provided for the American Civil Liberities Union or Americans for Tax Reform, groups with concerns about the Act.

As to the substance of the bill, it contains many illusory provisions that appear to be pro-civil liberties, but are really meaningless or steps backward. Here is a rough sketch: No 4-year Sunsets for Controversial Provisions: On November 9th, this House voted unanimously in support of 4-year sunsets for only the most dangerous and controversial sections of the PATRIOT Act: intelligence orders, roving wiretaps and the lone wolf authority. The Senate bill contained a 4 year sunset. Unfortunately, the conference report includes only a 7-year sunset making meaningful oversight very difficult for the next several Congresses.

No Standard for Library and Other Intrusive Records: The Conference Report still leaves Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, orders for any tangible thing (library and bookstore records, firearms, and business records), subject to only a "relevance" standard, allowing the government to go on fishing expeditions. It allows for a very limited right to judicial review that is of questionable value. No Standard for Issuing or Meaningful Challenge to National Security Letters: Last week we learned that over 30,000 national security letters (NSLs) are issued every year to banks, internet providers, insurance companies and other businesses without court approval. However, the Conference Report provides no meaningful mechanism to challenge these letters in court. Even worse -- the legislation has no way ensure that the private information is destroyed after it's collected, letting it sit in government databases forever. It also imposes a 1 year prison sentence if you publicly reveal that you received an NSL.

the rest of his comments
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/11/16/174944/46