Senate set to extend Patriot Act without new restrictions
The Senate is preparing to bring up and pass a short-term extension of some key provisions of the Patriot Act, setting aside changes to the law that were carefully negotiated by a Senate committee last fall. The Judiciary Committee approved a bill last October that would extend key provisions of the controversial law but add ...
The Senate is preparing to bring up and pass a short-term extension of some key provisions of the Patriot Act, setting aside changes to the law that were carefully negotiated by a Senate committee last fall.
The Senate is preparing to bring up and pass a short-term extension of some key provisions of the Patriot Act, setting aside changes to the law that were carefully negotiated by a Senate committee last fall.
The Judiciary Committee approved a bill last October that would extend key provisions of the controversial law but add new restrictions to the use of so-called national security letters, a procedure used by the FBI to demand records from U.S. businesses. But according to leading senators, those new restrictions might have to wait for another year.
Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, explained the move in an exclusive interview with The Cable. She said it would be a one-year straight extension of the three Patriot Act provisions set to expire at the end of the month.
"I obviously preferred the Judiciary [Committee’s] version, it surprises me that Republicans won’t let it pass … We made a number of changes to accommodate them," she said. "The committee version is much better, it’s much more precise," she said, adding that she was ultimately OK with just extending the old version.
Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Jeff Sessions, R-AL, confirmed to The Cable that the current thinking was to extend the Patriot Act provisions in their current form, ignoring the changes his own committee approved.
"The Patriot Act has worked and the last thing we should do is weaken it. So I think it’s a good development that we are going to continue it as is," said Sessions. "That’s the right direction."
Here’s the scope of the three provisions that will be extended, according to Congressional Quarterly:
One of the expiring provisions allows the government to seek orders from a special federal court for "any tangible thing" that it says is related to a terrorism investigation. Another allows the government to seek court orders for roving wiretaps on terrorism suspects who shift their modes of communication. The third provision allows the government to apply to the special court for surveillance orders involving suspected "lone wolf" terrorists who do not necessarily have ties to a larger organization."
The extension is expected to come up with a package of other extensions today in the Senate to be passed by unanimous consent. One aide said the extension could be for 30 days and then later this week, the Senate could begin consideration of a longer-term extension that could be for the rest of the year, but no final decisions have been made.
If Senate leaders ultimately want to push for the Judiciary Committee’s version, they will face stiff resistance that could complicate passage.
Senate Intelligence Committee ranking Republican Kit Bond, D-MO, when asked by The Cable if the extension would be the Judiciary committee’s version, said, "It better not be!"
UPDATE: The extension did not come up on Tuesday but is expected to come up Wednesday. The one-year extension would still have to pass the House, so a one week extension is expected to cover until then, aides said.
Josh Rogin covers national security and foreign policy and writes the daily Web column The Cable. His column appears bi-weekly in the print edition of The Washington Post. He can be reached for comments or tips at josh.rogin@foreignpolicy.com.
Previously, Josh covered defense and foreign policy as a staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, writing extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, U.S.-Asia relations, defense budgeting and appropriations, and the defense lobbying and contracting industries. Prior to that, he covered military modernization, cyber warfare, space, and missile defense for Federal Computer Week Magazine. He has also served as Pentagon Staff Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, in its Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on U.S.-Japan relations, Chinese military modernization, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and more.
A graduate of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Josh lived in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tokyo's Sophia University. He speaks conversational Japanese and has reported from the region. He has also worked at the House International Relations Committee, the Embassy of Japan, and the Brookings Institution.
Josh's reporting has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, CBS, ABC, NPR, WTOP, and several other outlets. He was a 2008-2009 National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow, 2009 military reporting fellow with the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the 2011 recipient of the InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He hails from Philadelphia and lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @joshrogin
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