Contact: Jenni Terry
Press Officer, ALA Washington Office
Washington, D.C. – The USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009 (H.R. 3845) and the FISA Amendments Act of 2009 (H.R. 3846), introduced into the House of Representatives Tuesday, would together systematically reform our national surveillance laws.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee failed to pass a bill that would restore the balance between protecting civil liberties and ensuring law enforcement has the tools it needs to fight terrorism, but leaders in the House have boldly stepped up to reopen the public debate on these challenging issues and address the need for reform,” American Library Association (ALA) President Camila Alire said.
H.R. 3845 and H.R. 3846 were introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA).
H.R. 3845 calls for reform to Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, often referred to as the library provision, by improving the standard for issuing a Section 215 order, providing recipients of Section 215 orders with the ability to immediately challenge both the underlying order and any gag order associated with it, and prohibiting a request for Section 215 records to a library or bookseller for documentary materials that contain personally identifiable information concerning a patron.
This bill would also make needed reforms to national security letter (NSL) policy by ensuring that the FBI can obtain basic information without a court order while also adding reasonable safeguards, improving the issuance standard for NSLs, and authorizing meaningful, constitutionally sound judicial review of NSLs and associated gag orders.
“Libraries have been on the receiving end of both Section 215 orders and NSLs, and we know reform is needed to these broad, sweeping policies in order to prevent the abuse of these tools and to protect innocent Americans from the unwarranted surveillance, collection and retention of their personal information,” Alire said.
Over the last ten months, an OITP-lead workgroup has been collaborating with librarians, archivists and members of various indigenous communities within the United States in order to draft a statement of guiding principles concerning the management and protection of traditional cultural expressions (TCEs). TCEs are defined as, but not limited to, narratives, poetry, music, art, designs, names, signs, symbols, performances, architectural forms, and handicrafts created by indigenous and/or traditional communities.
The purpose of this document is to help librarians appreciate the unique nature of indigenous culture and to highlight ways that librarians can better manage traditional cultural expressions in their collections and share expertise with cultures that choose to self manage their own cultural heritage. In the next few months, the workgroup will continue to share the document with ALA divisions, roundtables, executive board, Council, and other interested units and organizations. The group aims for the principles to be considered for adoption as ALA policy at the 2010 Midwinter Conference in Boston. As always, feedback is welcome in this process–email crussell [AT] alawash [DOT] org.
For more information about traditional cultural expressions, visit the TCE website and Janice Pilch’s excellent issue brief.
Believe it or not, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and other Web 2.0 applications are becoming more and more effective tools for library advocacy efforts. Join Dr. Curtis Rogers (South Carolina State Library), Kristin Murphy (ALA Washington Office) and Stephanie Vance (Advocacy Guru), for this session on how libraries can use social media techniques to capture the attention of policymakers and the public they represent — from townhall to Washington, DC! If you’re wondering how to use Web 2.0 to get heard on issues that matter to your library, this is the place to be!
Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) recently introduced a bill, H.R. 3762, into the House of Representatives to make published Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports available to the public via the Internet.
More than $100 million tax dollars are spent each year to fund CRS, which generates detailed reports for Congressional lawmakers and their staff. This bipartisan legislation, introduced with fellow freshman Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ), would make published CRS reports available to the public in an effort to increase transparency and help citizens become more informed and engaged advocates.
This recent House activity complements Senate Resolution 118, introduced by Sen. Lieberman (I-CT) in April 2009.
We thank supporters of both pieces of legislation for demonstrating a understanding of the importance of access to information.
Jessica McGilvray
Assistant Director, ALA Office of Government Relations
With three provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act set to expire on December 31, 2009, the Senate began the process of reauthorization legislation in September, beginning with the introduction of, S. 1686, the JUSTICE Act introduced by Senators Feingold (D-WI) and Durban (D-IL). Chairman Leahy and Sens. Cardinand Kaufman introduced. S. 1692, the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2009, a bill to reauthorize the expiring provisions on September 22, 2009. The three sections scheduled to sunset include Section 215 on “business records” often referred to as the “library provision.”
Hours before the first scheduled mark-up on October 1st, a bill negotiated by Sens. Patrick Leahy (VT-D) and Dianne Feinstein (CA-D) was substituted in place of the original S. 1692, the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2009, introduced by Leahy on September 22. Although there was no public statement of support, it was clear that behind the scenes the White House and/or the Department of Justice knew about, and likely supported, the “Feinstein” version of S. 1692.
Although several senators attempted a number of amendments, none of the amendments that would have improved protection of our civil liberties was passed. Senators Feingold and Durbin should be thanked for their repeated attempts to improve S. 1692 and to argue for protecting our constitution rights. The substitute bill substantially weakened the reforms the library community has sought relevant to Sec. 215 and national security letters.
There is a provision in the amended version of S. 1692 that slightly raises the legal standard to obtain a Section 215 order for “library circulation records or patron lists” – a very narrow definition. This “fix” does not address “reader privacy” as a whole, so unfortunately bookstores are not covered in this provision. Further, the provision only addresses 215 orders and does nothing for increasing the legal standards for national security letters which are far more troubling. The substitute “Feinstein” bill was passed by the Judiciary Committee with an 11 to 8 vote at the second markup on October 8th.
It is unclear when the bill will go to the Senate floor for a final vote. Both the health care legislation and financial reform proposals are supposedly in the agenda queue ahead of S. 1692. However, with the December 31st sunset deadline, there needs to be a vote within the next two months. ALA is monitoring the Senate activities and has started to work with allies in the House and with our coalitions to develop a better House bill. Stay tuned.
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