Daily Kos diarist “stockphrase” has more information on the bill being marked up in secret by the Senate Intelligence Committee here, including a link to the analysis by the ACLU.
Some key points from the ACLU’s analysis after the jump…
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s proposed legislation would exacerbate existing problems with Patriot Act powers, rather than correct them, and would further erode fundamental checks and balances that protect the privacy of ordinary Americans. In particular, the bill:
- Makes permanent Patriot Act powers without safeguards. The bill makes permanent, with one exception, all the expiring provisions of the Patriot Act. The only exception, section 223, protects privacy by giving victims of unlawful government surveillance a court remedy. The bill would allow that section to expire.
- Eliminates prior court review of FBI library and other private records demands for intelligence gathering purposes. Under the guise of authorizing so-called “administrative subpoenas,” the bill creates a new power for the FBI to obtain library and other private records without even the review of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
- Strikes an existing First Amendment safeguard for records search powers. Under section 215 of the Patriot Act, where an application for records is made under FISA, there is an express proviso that “such investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution.” This safeguard is inadequate, but DOJ has pointed to it on countless occasions in defense of the Patriot Act. The Senate Intelligence Bill deletes this safeguard in paragraph (a) of section 215, which applies to each records request.
- Creates new statutory authority for intelligence investigators to track mail of ordinary citizens. The bill adds an entire new section to FISA on “mail covers” which allows intelligence investigators to track, without probable cause, the outside of any sealed mail sent or received or the contents of any unsealed mail.
These are just a few of the sections highlighted in the ACLU report. I urge you to read the whole thing. Then when you’re done, write to your Senator and ask them to oppose the Intelligence Committe’s end run around the committee of primary jurisdiction – the Judiciary Committee. It’s especially important to write if your Senator is a member of either committee!
Again from Juan Cabanela’s totally fantastic Contacting The Congress site: The names, phone/fax numbers and webmail/email addresses of the Senate Intelligence committee members can be obtained by going to this page, and the names, phone/fax numbers and webmail/email addresses of the Senate Judiciary Committee can be found here.