Thanks Due to Senators Who Supported Patriot Act Extension

With the debate over the USA Patriot Act conference report to intensify in the next couple of weeks, the sponsors of the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP) -- the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and PEN American Center -- are asking their constituents to thank the senators who supported a temporary extension of the act to allow time to ensure that the final bill protects readers' rights to privacy.

At present, the House vote on the Patriot Act Reauthorization conference report is scheduled for Wednesday, February 1, and the vote in the Senate should take place by midnight on February 3. It is possible, however, that Congress may simply continue to extend these deadlines, and a final vote on a permanent reauthorization could happen later in the year.

The week leading up to Christmas saw a flurry of activity in Congress as lawmakers fought over reauthorization of the act, which was set to expire at the end of the year. The battle was set when members of the House approved a conference committee report that a bipartisan group of U.S. senators believes does not do enough to ensure the privacy rights of U.S. citizens. Political maneuvering went down to the wire, but the result was a major victory for proponents of readers' privacy rights. A final reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act was postponed for a month to give Congress time to include provisions to protect readers' rights.

During that final week, 52 senators signed a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) expressing their support for a temporary three-month extension of the Patriot Act. CRP is suggesting that, in this short pause before debate over reauthorization begins again in earnest, constituents thank the senators on the list below for their support. (Contact information is available on the Senate website.)

To read more about CRP and Patriot Act reauthorization, click here. --David Grogan