Senate Vote Clears Way for USA Patriot Act Renewal

On Wednesday, March 1, the Senate voted to clear the way for reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, including a four-year extension of Section 215, which authorizes searches of bookstore and library records. As of press time, the Senate was expected to vote on reauthorization on Thursday, March 2, and the House is expected to vote on -- and pass -- the legislation on Tuesday, March 7, as reported by the Associated Press.

The bill passed on Wednesday was a "compromise" reached in negotiations between the White House and four Republican senators who were blocking a vote on extending the Patriot Act because they did not believe the reauthorization bill contained enough protections for civil liberties. Although ABA, its partners in the Campaign for Reader Privacy, and other critics of the reauthorization bill were unhappy because it omitted a provision passed in the Senate that would have limited Section 215 searches to the records of people suspected of terrorism, the bill does include a number of provisions that at least partially restore safeguards for the privacy of bookstore and library records that were eliminated by the Patriot Act, including the right to challenge Section 215 orders in court. (For a previous article on this topic, click here.)

Though President Bush will almost certainly sign the bill by March 10, it does not mean that further modifications of the Patriot Act are out of the question, according to AP, which noted that on Tuesday, while urging the Senate to pass the Act, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stressed that further changes needed to be made to the legislation. Pointing out that the issue was not yet concluded, Specter said that he is planning to introduce more legislation and hearings regarding restoring "House-rejected curbs on government power" at a future date, AP reported. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), who led the unsuccessful effort to oppose the compromise in the Senate, also promised to continue the fight to add safeguards for civil liberties.

Look for further coverage on the Patriot Act reauthorization in next week's issue of Bookselling This Week.