FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2006
Contact:  Joy Fox
(401) 732-9400 
 
Langevin Votes for Civil Liberties

 
(Warwick, R.I.) Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) last night voted to approve S. 2271, a bill to add additional civil liberty protections to the conference report on H.R. 3199, the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization.

“On December 14, 2005, I voted against H.R. 3199 to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act, but that vote did not stop the Republican leadership ramming it through Congress,” said Langevin. “Last night, I had the opportunity to eliminate some of its most egregious provisions and to further enhance civil liberties protections. I voted to improve the civil liberties language in the act and am proud to join my Rhode Island Senate colleagues in voting for this important bipartisan amendment.”

S. 2271 improves civil liberties in three ways:

  • It allows recipients of certain court-issued search orders to challenge the nondisclosure requirement (“gag order”) in court. This provision helps protect civil liberties by placing a check on these court orders and could allow librarians or bookstore owners, for example, to inform others about the search.

    Under the original USA PATRIOT Act legislation, federal investigators could use court orders requested under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for access to business records. The recipients of such orders, such as libraries or bookstores, were bound by a nondisclosure requirement, making them unable to tell anyone about the search.

  • It eliminates the requirement that recipients of administrative subpoenas must disclose to the FBI the names of any attorneys they consult or intend to consult, when challenging a subpoena. Administrative subpoenas, also known as National Security Letters (NSLs), are equivalent to search warrants, but they are signed by government bureaucrats instead of issued by courts and require no judicial review.

    Under the original legislation, recipients of administrative subpoenas were required to disclose the names of their attorneys to the FBI.

  • It exempts public, academic or research libraries that offer Internet access or other electronic research tools from being subject to administrative subpoenas. This provision prevents the government from accessing Americans' library records without a warrant by court order.

    Under the original legislation, the government could issue administrative subpoenas to request records of transactions and subscriber information from libraries.

    “If S. 2271 did not pass, I was concerned that the USA PATRIOT Act would move to the President's desk for signature lacking protections to prevent challenging nondisclosure agreements, expanding the use of national security letters, and subjecting libraries to unnecessary and intrusive scrutiny,” continued Langevin. “As a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, I will keep fighting to improve the PATRIOT Act so that we can find the right balance between waging the war on terrorism and protecting the rights of the American people.”

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