Senate bill seeks time to tighten Patriot Act

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A bipartisan coalition of senators yesterday introduced a bill to extend by three months controversial provisions of the USA Patriot Act to allow for efforts in the Senate and House to draft new legislation -- potentially trumping plans to vote this week on a four-year extension.

The bill, authored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, is co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, Carl Levin of Michigan and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, along with Republican Sens. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire, Larry E. Craig of Idaho and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

The senators told Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, that the House waited six months to appoint members to the conference committee that made the Patriot Act recommendations and that "rushed negotiations won't be able to achieve a satisfactory resolution in the few days remaining in the session."

The letter comes at a time that Mr. Specter, who chaired the conference committee, was telling colleagues in a personal letter that the Senate-House conference report recommending the four-year extension expands civil rights protections while bolstering anti-terrorism measures.

Mr. Specter said the report, negotiated by Senate and House Republicans, included "important civil liberties and privacy protections" and "additional safeguards" to protect civil rights.

Both the Senate and House had been expected to vote on the report this week.

But Mr. Kennedy argued that an extended deadline would give lawmakers time to "deal responsibly with the major remaining concerns about the contentious and sweeping methods of obtaining detailed bank and telephone records, including national security letters."

"One of the most glaring omissions in this conference report is the failure to include a sunset on these letters, even though it would be consistent with the new reporting and auditing requirements included in the conference report," he said.

Thousands of national security letters are issued each year by federal authorities to collect records on telephone calls, correspondence and financial information. They are issued by supervisors and are not subject to approval by prosecutors, grand juries or judges.

Criticized by some lawmakers and civil rights organizations, the conference report authorizes a four-year extension of three provisions that were part of the sweeping counterterrorism law passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. They were scheduled to expire at the end of the month.

The provisions include roving wiretaps, "sneak-and-peek" searches and secret warrants for books and other records at businesses, hospitals and libraries.

In his letter, Mr. Specter said the report, for the first time, requires a comprehensive audit by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General concerning the use of the law to obtain personal records from businesses, hospitals and libraries. The audit will include the public reporting of the number of times the provision has been sought and granted.

The report also requires a 30-day notification to persons targeted by a "sneak and peak" search. Notification within a "reasonable period of time" is the existing standard. It also limits roving wiretaps to cases in which law enforcement can show the target's actions may thwart surveillance efforts.