Congress extends the PATRIOT Act

They just keep chopping away at our civil liberties.

Our founding fathers would not approve.

And where will it end?

From today's Washington Post:
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Congress renewed a four-year-old anti-terrorism law yesterday that makes it easier for federal agents to secretly obtain Americans' records and communications, even as some lawmakers warned that voters are growing increasingly concerned about protecting civil liberties during the fight against terrorism.

Renewal of the USA Patriot Act marks a victory for President Bush at a time when he is defending a program of warrantless domestic eavesdropping conducted by the National Security Agency. Congress has scheduled several hearings on the NSA program, and the Senate intelligence committee created a subcommittee yesterday to scrutinize it.

The House voted 280 to 138 to approve a Senate-passed measure that makes several changes to the Patriot Act, which was enacted shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Both chambers earlier approved another bill extending the act's provisions that were scheduled to expire, and Bush is expected to sign the measures as a package.

The law makes it easier for federal agents to secretly tap phones, obtain library and bank records, and search homes of terrorism suspects. Bush has called it a vital tool in protecting the country. But numerous civil libertarians and librarians said it allows abuse of innocent Americans' privacy, and lawmakers agreed last year to add several safeguards before renewing provisions that were scheduled to expire.

One change involves National Security Letters, which are subpoenas for financial and electronic records that do not require a judge's approval. Libraries functioning in their "traditional capacity" will no longer be subject to such letters. Also modified are "Section 215 subpoenas," which are granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court. Recipients will have the explicit right to challenge the subpoenas' nondisclosure or "gag order" requirements.

The reauthorization makes permanent all but two of the Patriot Act's provisions.
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