Senate OKs anti-terror USA Patriot Act renewal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Friday passed a
bill reauthorizing the USA Patriot Act, which gave the
government new powers to hunt down suspected terrorists after
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Several provisions of the 2001 law are set to expire at the
end of this year, and President Bush has urged Congress to make
it permanent.

The House of Representatives passed its version of the
legislation earlier this month. Differences between the two
must be reconciled before a final measure can be sent to Bush
to sign into law.

“We are confident Congress will ultimately send the
president a bill that does not undermine the ability of
investigators and prosecutors to disrupt terrorist plots and
combat terrorism effectively,” said Justice Department
spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos.

Seeking to tighten provisions criticized by civil liberties
groups, the Senate bill would require the federal government to
report how it uses its authority to view library and medical
records, one of the most controversial powers granted by the
law.

“Like all compromises, it includes provisions that are not
supported by everyone in this body,” said Senate Minority
Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.

“However, Democratic and Republican members of the
Judiciary Committee came together in a spirit of cooperation
and compromise to agree on this bill, and I strongly support
it,” Reid said.

The Senate bill, passed without opposition, would renew for
four years law enforcement’s ability to go to a secret court
for permission to seize suspects’ records from libraries and
bookstores.

The House bill has a 10-year sunset for this provision.

Separate legislation, passed in June in the House, would
end the government’s easy access to library and bookstore
records by making law enforcement revert to traditional search
warrants.

That measure, attached to a fiscal 2006 spending bill, has
drawn a veto threat from the White House.

Similarly, the Senate has a four-year extension for
allowing roving wiretaps, which let the government eavesdrop on
suspects as they switch from phone to phone. The House bill has
a 10-year extension.

The legislation advanced in Congress shortly after the July
7 suicide bombings of London’s subway and a bus that killed 52
people and injured hundreds. That was followed by a July 21
failed bombing attempt on London’s transportation network.

Still to be considered by the full Senate is separate
legislation by its Intelligence Committee that would give the
government even broader powers to get records without a judge’s
permission. Those provisions have drawn heavy opposition.