Sanders Leads Bipartisan Coalition in Calling for the Protection of Civil Liberties in Patriot Act Reauthorization
Press Release
Sanders Leads Bipartisan Coalition in Calling for the Protection of Civil Liberties in Patriot Act Reauthorization
162 members join Sanders in urging the Patriot Act Conference Committee to adopt Senate protections
Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) today let a bipartisan coalition of 163 members in urging the conference committee for the Patriot Act reauthorization bill to adopt Senate provisions that protect the privacy of Americans' reading records. The coalition released a letter today to the conference committee members who are preparing to meet to determine the final content of the Patriot Act reauthorization bill.
Sanders said, "It is vital that the conference committee includes critical protections that restore Americans' constitutionally guaranteed right to read and access information without governmental intrusion or monitoring. The Senate version reflects the will of the majority of House members who voted 238-187 in June to approve legislation providing greater privacy protections for readers."
The Senate version of the bill includes language that would require the FBI to provide facts showing that the records sought are relevant to a terrorism investigation, and that these records are somehow connected to an agent of a foreign power, in order to obtain a Section 215 order. In addition, the Senate bill includes a four-year sunset for Section 215 as opposed to the ten-year sunset in the House bill.
The Senate bill also allows for greater Congressional oversight of Section 215 by requiring the Department of Justice to report annually to Congress the total number of applications made under Section 215 and the total number of applications granted, modified, or denied under Section 215 for numerous types of records including library or bookstore records.
Sanders said, "We must do all we can to protect Americans from terrorism, but we must do it in a way that does not undermine the basic constitutional rights that makes us a free country. American citizens from across the political spectrum have made it clear that they do not want the government monitoring their reading habits. The Senate language will help ensure that Big Brother is not reading over our shoulders."
In June, Sanders passed an amendment to the FY06 Justice Department spending bill to eliminate funding for bookstore and library searches under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. The amendment passed 238-187. The Republican leadership prevented the House from voting on the same amendment during the Patriot Act reauthorization debate.
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