Senate Republicans craft Patriot Act deal

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Republicans reached a deal
with the White House on Thursday that would likely clear the
way for renewing the USA Patriot Act, a key element of
President Bush’s war on terror.

While some Democrats were quick to portray the deal as
failing to address civil liberties concerns adequately, several
Republicans and Democrats who had earlier balked at renewing
the law gave their support now that some revisions had been
accepted by the White House.

First enacted after the September 11 attacks, the Patriot
Act expanded law enforcement authorities’ ability to conduct
wiretaps and secret searches and share information.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said the
deal appeared to be “a step in the right direction.”

The Republican accord would make permanent a number of key
provisions of the act that are set to expire March 10.

“It is much less likely that a filibuster would be
sustained under these circumstances,” said Sen. Richard Durbin
of Illinois, who is in the Democratic leadership and intends to
vote for the new compromise.

One change to the law accepted by Senate Republicans and
the White House would allow individuals to challenge gag orders
when they have been subpoenaed to produce sensitive information
on library, medical, education or gun-related records.

Another change would clarify that traditional libraries
would not be subjected to special subpoenas, which are not
issued by judges, to gain records.

A group of Republican and Democratic senators combined in
December to stage a Patriot Act renewal filibuster, a
procedural move that blocked a vote on the bill.

Since then, Congress approved short-term extensions of the
law.

“White House nay-saying and partisanship have obstructed
this from becoming the better bill that it should be and that
is deeply regrettable,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the
senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan countered that the
agreement that has been reached “will continue to build upon
the civil liberties protections that are in place but do so in
a way that doesn’t compromise our national security priorities
within this legislation.”

Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who led efforts
for revisions, said the Republican proposal had only had “minor
changes” that do “not address the major problems with the
Patriot Act.” He called the Republican-backed version a
“one-sided ‘deal”‘ and “unacceptable.”

But Feingold had worked closely with Republican Sen. John
Sununu of New Hampshire, who on Thursday said he would support
the new language.

Sununu on Thursday acknowledged the new compromise had
“places where we could do better.” He said a bipartisan group
of senators would work on such concerns over the long term.

Civil liberties experts have criticized the law for making
it too easy for the government to obtain individuals’ private
records, including medical and library records.

The fight over the Patriot Act comes as Bush is under
attack from Democrats for conducting domestic surveillance
without warrants.

(Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro)