Senate holds first mark-up of USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization legislation

The first in what will likely be a series of mark-ups of USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization legislation was held today in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Hours before the mark-up, a bill negotiated by Sens. Patrick Leahy (VT-D) and Dianne Feinstein (CA-D) was substituted in place of S. 1692, the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2009, introduced by Leahy on September 22.

The substitute bill substantially weakened the reforms the library community has sought relevant to Sec. 215 and national security letters.

A specific library amendment introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (IL-D) would have provided preferable reforms; however, it did not pass. During the debate, Durbin recognized ALA for its work on preserving the confidentiality of library records and also for being a champion for the privacy rights of the American public.  During the same debate, Sen. Jeff Sessions (AL-R) referred to the library community’s concerns as “unwarranted” and “irrational.”

The progress toward reform made last week with the introduction of Sen. Russ Feingold’s (WI-D) JUSTICE Act and Leahy’s original bill seems to be losing ground with the introduction of this substitute bill.

This is a critical time for grassroots pressure to keep needed reforms in the bill. As we continue to closely monitor this complex and highly fluid process closely, we call upon advocates to continue contacting their senators.

For more information on how to contact your senator as well as additional talking points, please go to the Legislative Action Center: http://capwiz.com/ala/home/.

Lynne Bradley
Director, ALA Office for Government Relations

Office of Government Relations issues urgent PATRIOT Act Action Alert

URGENT ALERT:

USA PATRIOT ACT REFORMS – JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MARKUP SEPTEMBER 30TH

ADVOCATES ASKED TO CONTACT SENATORS ON JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ASAP

It is critical that library supporters from states with senators on the Judiciary Committee call them as soon as possible urging reforms to Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and laws covering national security letters.  The Senate switchboard number is:  (202) 224-3121

There are two USA PATRIOT Act reform bills pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee at this time.   The Committee has scheduled a work session or “markup” of S. 1696, the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act originally introduced on September 17th by Judiciary Chairman Leahy and Sens. Cardin and Kaufman.  This bill respects constitutional rights by increasing judicial review of the use of surveillance authorities that sweep in U.S. citizens.  The bill also expands public reporting to ensure that Americans can monitor the use of these authorities.

[ Leahy statement:  http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200909/092209b.html ]

THE MESSAGE:

• Congress should pass the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2009, S. 1692, with key amendments to protect civil liberties based upon S. 1686, the Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools in Counterterrorism Efforts (JUSTICE) Act, and,
• Congress should also consider reforms of national security letters (NSLs) now as legislation on reform and reauthorization of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act moves forward.

TALKING POINTS:

• The library community thanks Senator Leahy and the bills’s other sponsors, Senators Cardin (MD-D) , Kaufman (DE-D) and Sanders (VT-I) for introducing legislation that  makes many needed reforms to Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act;
• However, library advocates urge the Judiciary Committee to consider amendments to S. 1692, based upon provisions in S. 1686, the Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools in Counterterrorism Efforts (JUSTICE) Act;
• Intensify oversight of the Section 215 and National Security Letters provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and other laws that limit the privacy rights of library users, library employees and the general public, including annual reports by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General.
• Guarantee a recipient the right to consult an attorney, the right to challenge any gag order and due process at the time a Section 215 order or an NSL is served on the recipient;
• Require the FBI to provide sufficient facts to demonstrate that a gag order is necessary to protect national security;  if authorized, the gag order should automatically expire at the end of six months unless the FBI shows good cause to extend the gag order.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee
Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman, D-Vermont
Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin
Jeff Sessions, Ranking Member, R-Alabama
Dianne Feinstein, D-California
Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah
Russell D. Feingold, D-Wisconsin
Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa
Charles E. Schumer, D-New York
Jon Kyl, R-Arizona
Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois
Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina
Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Maryland
John Cornyn, R-Texas
Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island
Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma
Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota
Edward E. Kaufman, D-Delaware
Arlen Specter, D-Pennsylvania
Al Franken, D-Minnesota

[For additional background information go to ALA’s recent “District Dispatch” on USA PATRIOT Act reforms at: http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?cat=10]

Full bill text for S. 1692 is at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.1692.IS:

Full bill text for S. 1686 is at:  http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:s.01686:

ALA sends letter to Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee in support of Federal Research Public Access Act

As part of our ongoing efforts to champion open access, the ALA Washington Office today submitted a  letter to members of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, voicing our support for the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2009 (S. 1373).  Specifically, the letter includes the resolution passed by the ALA Council at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference held recently in Chicago.

This bill, introduced by Sens. Lieberman and Cornyn, would help ensure free, timely online access to the published results of taxpayer-funded research produced by 11 U.S. federal agencies and departments.

More information on this legislation can be found here.

President picks intellectual property czar

Last week, President Obama chose Victoria Espinel for the position of the White House’s “intellectual property czar.” Espinel, whose official title will be U.S. intellectual property (IP) enforcement coordinator, became the first assistant U.S. trade representative for intellectual property and innovation in 2005 and served as the U.S. trade negotiator on IP issues before the World Trade Organization. She is also the founder and president of the non-profit foundation, Bridging the Innovation Divide.

Espinel will undergo a Senate confirmation hearing before officially taking on the role.

The American Library Association is hopeful her confirmation hearing will be an opportunity to discuss public interest concerns with intellectual property, such as fair use and balanced copyright.

If you haven’t signed on yet….

Tomorrow we will host an excellent opportunity to familiarize yourself with the upcoming legislative activities on Capitol Hill. Join us for an ALA Washington Office Webinar where Kristin Murphy (ALA Washington Office) and Stephanie Vance (Advocacy Guru), offer insights in to the end of the year legislative madness in Washington, DC over the next couple months. Although you’ve heard a great deal about health care reform, be assured that Washington, DC is still abuzz with a range of other issues, including LSTA funding and, of course, ongoing recovery act work. In this session we’ll look at what the library community should be tracking in the next few months, as well as how to be most effective in getting a message across in this chaotic time.

Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT